Hansard: NA: Unrevised hansard

House: National Assembly

Date of Meeting: 07 Aug 2012

Summary

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Minutes

UNREVISED HANSARD

 

TUESDAY, 07 AUGUST 2012

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PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

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The House met at 14:01.

 

The Speaker took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS – see col 000.

 

NEW MEMBERS

 

(Announcement)

 

The SPEAKER: I wish to announce that the vacancies that occurred in the National Assembly owing to the passing away of Ms N F Nyanda and Mr R L Padayachie have been filled by the nominations of Ms J P Ngubeni-Maluleka with effect from 13 June 2012 and Ms A Mfulo with effect from 15 June 2012 respectively. The members made and subscribed the oath in the office of the Deputy Speaker on 25 June 2012.

 

The vacancy that occurred in the National Assembly owing to the passing away of Mr S Shiceka has been filled by the nomination of Ms D O Chili with effect from 18 July 2012. The member made and subscribed the oath in the office of the Speaker on 31 July 2012.

 

NOTICES OF MOTION

 

Mr J H STEENHUISEN: Mr Speaker, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the DA:

 

That the House debates the recent municipal audit outcomes tabled by the Auditor-General and solutions to ensure that the goals set under Operation Clean Audit are met by the target date.

 

Mrs G M BORMAN: Mr Speaker, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the ANC:

 

That the House debates the state of RDP housing beneficiary lists, including the difficulties encountered when applying for an RDP house and solutions to develop a fair and transparent system of registering for a house.

 

Mr L RAMATLAKANE: Mr Speaker, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of Cope:

 

That the House debates the problems being experienced by learners in Limpopo, where textbooks take 18 months to be delivered.

 

Rev K R J MESHOE: Mr Speaker, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the ACDP:

 

That the House debates the need for Government spending more than R1 billion to build a new town just 3,2 kilometres from Nkandla in rural KwaZulu-Natal.

 

Dr G W KOORNHOF: Mr Speaker, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the ANC:

 

That the House debates strengthening and transforming the Land Bank.

 

Mr P VAN DALEN: Mr Speaker, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the DA:

 

That the House debates the statement made by the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries that corruption is rife in her department, and recommendations to improve the situation.

 

Mrs P A MOCUMI: Mr Speaker, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the ANC:

 

That the House debates strategic interventions geared at combating gangsterism, which has engulfed Cape Town.

 

Mrs J D KILIAN: Mr Speaker, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of Cope:

 

That the House debates the critical need for a comprehensive and coherent information and communication technology policy.

 

Mr S MOKGALAPA: Mr Speaker, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the DA:

 

That the House debates the impacts of the rectification programme on human settlement development and solutions to improve the situation.

 

Ms M M MOHOROSI: I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the ANC:

 

That the House debates devising alternative means of peaceful and constructive engagement in dealing with service delivery protests.

 

Ms M L DUNJWA: Mr Speaker, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the ANC:

 

That the House debates memory of ANC President General James Sebe Moroka, who served the ANC from 1949 to 1952.

 

Mrs M WENGER: Mr Speaker, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the DA:

 

That the House debates the state of water infrastructure and the reliability of water supply at a local government level and solutions to improve the situation.

 

Mr G B D MCINTOSH: Mr Speaker, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of Cope:

 

That the House debates the impact on South Africa of sanctions that are being imposed against Iran.

 

Mr G R MORGAN: Mr Speaker, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the DA:

 

That the House debates the implementation of an appropriate waste tyre plan, including costs to consumers and its job creation potential.

 

Mr M MNQASELA: Mr Speaker, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the DA:

 

That this House debates the lack of proper and visible policing in Khayelitsha and recommendations to improve the situation.

 

CONGRATULATIONS TO CAMERON VAN DER BURGH ON WINNING GOLD MEDAL

 

(Draft Resolution)

 

THE CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Mr Speaker, I move without notice:

 

That the House –

 

(1) notes that South African swimmer Cameron van der Burgh won the gold medal in the 100 metres breaststroke at the London 2012 Olympic Games;

 

(2) further notes that Van der Burgh won this event in a new world record time of 58,46 seconds; and

 

(3) congratulates Van der Burgh on this monumental achievement.

 

Agreed to.

 

CONGRATULATIONS TO SIFU M J LI ON WINNING THE LEGENDS OF KUNG-FU MARTIAL ARTS CHAMPIONSHIPS

 

(Draft Resolution)

Mr A M MPONTSHANE: Hon Speaker, I move without notice:

 

That the House -

 

(1)        recognises and congratulates South African kung-fu master, Sifu M J Li, who recently won the gold medal at the Legends of Kung-Fu Martial Arts Championships in Houston, Texas, USA;

 

(2)        notes that Sifu Li was competing against approximately 1 000 kung-fu athletes from around the world and that this is the third time that he has represented South Africa at such a prestigious martial arts championship; and

 

(3)        congratulates Sifu Li on his achievement and encourages all South Africans to emulate our excellent sportsmen and sportswomen.

 

Agreed to.

 

CONGRATULATIONS TO DR NKOSAZANA DLAMINI-ZUMA ON HER APPOINTMENT AS AFRICAN UNION CHAIR

 

(Draft Resolution)

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Speaker, I move without notice:

That the House –

 

(1)        welcomes the appointment of Minister of Home Affairs, Dr

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, as Chair of the African Union;

 

(2)        notes that Dr Dlamini-Zuma was elected by 37 votes;

 

(3)        believes that she has the necessary experience, expertise, skills and competence to provide leadership;

 

(4)        further believes that the African heads of state have sent out a strong continental signal by appointing a woman of such exceptional calibre to lead the African Union; and

 

(5)        congratulates her on this appointment and wishes her the very best in her endeavours to contribute to Africa’s development and improve the lives of the communities on our continent.

 

Agreed to.

 

CONGRATULATIONS TO SOUTH AFRICAN SWIMMER CHAD LE CLOS

 

(Draft Resolution)

 

Mrs S V KALYAN: Speaker, I move without notice:

 

That the House –

 

(1)        notes that South African swimmer Chad le Clos won the gold and silver in the 200 metres and 100 metres butterfly respectively at the 2012 London Olympic Games;

 

(2) further notes that by winning the 200 metre event in a new personal best time of 1: 52.96 seconds, Le Clos beat the defending champion and now 18-time Olympic gold medallist, Michael Phelps;

 

(3) congratulates South African national swimming coach Graham Hill for preparing and mentoring Le Clos for this success; and

 

(4)        further congratulates Le Clos on this incredible achievement and wishes him well in future endeavours.

 

Agreed to.

 

CONGRATULATIONS TO SIPHO “HOTSTIX” MABUSE ON COMPLETING MATRIC

 

(Draft Resolution)

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Speaker, I move without notice:

That the House –

 

(1)        congratulates one of South Africa’s legendary musicians, Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse, on completing his matric at the age of 61 – an outstanding achievement considering his age;

 

(2)        notes that Mr Mabuse left school in Grade 11, 45 years before he reconsidered enrolling for his matric last year;

 

(3)        further notes that he passed all six subjects to get a university entrance;

 

(4)        believes that this achievement opens the doors for the realisation of his ultimate education goal – a Master’s degree in anthropology;

 

(5)        further believes that Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse has indeed set a good example and has shown us that one is never too old for education; and

 

 (6) wishes him success in his future endeavours.

 

Agreed to.

 

CONGRATULATIONS TO SA GOLFER ERNIE ELS

 

(Draft Resolution)

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Speaker, I move without notice:

 

That the House –

 

(1)        notes that South African golfer Ernie Els won the 2012 British Open, at the Royal Lytham and St Annes course;

 

(2)        further notes that Ernie Els came from behind to take the prestigious Claret Jug from Australian, Adam Scott;

 

(3)        recognises that this is the second British Open won by Els, taking him to a total of 4 career major wins; and

 

(4)        congratulates Ernie Els on his victory and wishes him well for the future.

 

Agreed to.

 

INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY 12 AUGUST

 

(Draft Resolution)

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Speaker, I move without notice:

 

That the House -

 

(1) notes that International Youth Day is celebrated on 12 August each year to recognise efforts of the world's youth in enhancing the global society;

 

(2)        further notes that International Youth Day was first observed in 2000, following the 1998 resolution adopted during the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth and later endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1999;

 

(3)        acknowledges that the theme for this year’s International Youth Day is Dialogue and Mutual Understanding, which reflects the General Assembly’s appreciation of the value of dialogue among youth from different cultures as well as among different generations;

 

(4)        further acknowledges that this year’s International Year of Youth day will represent the culmination of the International Year of Youth designated by the United Nations to comprise the 12-month period between IYD 2011 and IYD 2012 and the 25th anniversary of the first International Year of Youth; and

 

(5)        calls on the youth to rally together and make important contributions to eradicate poverty, contain the spread of disease, combat climate change and achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

 

Agreed to.

 

LEAD SA, A PRIMEDIA BROADCASTING INITIATIVE, CELEBRATES ITS SECOND ANNIVERSARY

 

(Draft Resolution)

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Speaker, I move without notice:

 

That the House –

 

(1)        notes that Lead SA, a Primedia Broadcasting initiative, supported by Independent Newspapers celebrated its second anniversary on 4 August 2012;

 

(2)        further notes that the initiative seeks to inspire leadership in each South African, to celebrate those who do lead and challenge those who do not;

 

(3)        acknowledges that the achievements of Lead SA are testimony to the energy and commitment of ordinary South Africans to strengthen our democracy and continue to improve the lives of all; and

 

(4)        congratulates, celebrates and supports the efforts of Lead SA in inspiring active citizenship amongst South Africans.

 

Agreed to.

 

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE WORLD’S INDIGENOUS PEOPLE 9 AUGUST

 

(Draft Resolution)

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Speaker, I move without notice:

 

That the House –

 

(1)        notes that the United Nations’ International Day of the World's Indigenous People is observed on August 9 each year;

 

(2)        further notes that in 2004 the UN General Assembly proclaimed the Second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People from 2005 to 2014;

 

(3)        acknowledges that the decade’s goal was to further strengthen international co-operation for solving problems faced by indigenous peoples in areas such as culture, education, health, human rights, the environment and social and economic development;

 

(4)        recognises that observance of this day is to promote and protect the rights of the world’s indigenous population;

 

(5)        further recognises that the event also acknowledges the achievements and contributions that indigenous people make  to improve world issues such as environmental protection; and

 

(6)        calls on all to participate in observing this day to spread the UN’s message on indigenous people.

 

Agreed to.

 

MOTION OF CONDOLENCE

 

(The late Mandlenkosi Enock Mbili)

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Hon Speaker, the Mbili family and members of this august House, I move without notice:

 

That the House -

 

(1)        notes with great sadness the death of African National Congress (ANC) Member of Parliament, Mr Mandlenkosi Enock Mbili, in a motor vehicle accident on 10 July 2012 at the age of 48;

 

(2)        further notes that Mr Mbili obtained a Diploma in Marketing Management at Unisa and a Business Administration degree at the University of Zululand;

 

(3)        remembers that Mr Mbili, an active ANC member, served in various capacities within the ANC, including as chairperson of the ANC’s Kwa Dabeka branch in KwaZulu-Natal from 1990 to 1994, and from 1999 to 2003, he served on the Regional Executive Committee and the  Regional Working Committee of that province’s lower region;

 

(4)        further remembers that he served as an ANC Member of Parliament since 2006, representing his constituency of Hibberdene in KwaZulu-Natal, and he served with distinction as the ANC Whip of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts and as a member of the Standing Committee on Appropriations;

 

(5)        recalls that he was one of the movement’s hardest working and committed cadres in Parliament, pursuing his parliamentary oversight with great vigour and fearlessness;

 

(6)        acknowledges his deep compassion, humility, commitment and courage which he proved in true selfless service to his people and the country;

 

(7)        appreciates his immense contribution to furthering our democracy, his dedication and enthusiasm as a public representative and community worker and his work ethic; and

 

(8)        extends its heartfelt condolences to the family of Mr Mbili, friends, colleagues and members of the African National Congress.

 

The SPEAKER: Order! Before I ask the next speaker to come to the podium, can I request hon members to reduce the noise level? Can I also ask the three Deputy Ministers in front of me to please stop conversing? We would like to listen to the speakers.

 

Mr M SWART: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Mandlenkosi Mbili was born and grew up in the Nyangwini area in KwaZulu-Natal, but was unfortunately and sadly taken away from us in an unexpected motorcar accident at the young age of only 48 years.

 

Hon Mbili matriculated at Zwelibanzi High School, whereafter he obtained a Diploma in Marketing Management at the University of South Africa, Unisa, as well as a Bachelor of Administration degree at the University of Zululand. The studies he pursued after matriculating proved his continuous love for gaining knowledge and bears testimony to the fact that he was a person with an inquisitive mind.

 

While Mandlenkosi was studying, working in the private sector and even after he established his own businesses, he remained committed to his political ideals and remained an active member of the ANC throughout. He was elected to the Regional Executive Committee of the ANC for the Lower South Coast Region, where he served as Regional Working Committee member. He remained particularly committed to the ideals of job creation and the eradication of poverty.

Mandlenkosi became a Member of Parliament in 2006, and he passed away while in office. He served as ANC Whip of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Scopa, for a number of years and was transferred to the Standing Committee on Appropriations, Scoa, a few months ago. While serving with the hon Mbili on the Standing Committee on Appropriations, I found him to be serious about his job. He was the type of person who was committed to doing the right thing at all times to benefit all citizens. He was an open, honest, forthright, well-spoken and earnest person.

 

Mandlenkosi is survived by his wife and fiancée, seven children, as well as four grandchildren and three sisters. Our thoughts and sympathy go to his family for the loss of a grandfather, father, husband and staunch family man. Our sympathy also goes to the ANC, who lost an excellent Member of Parliament. He will be missed by all of us and will remain with fondness in our thoughts.

 

Mr L RAMATLAKANE: Thank you very much, hon Speaker. On behalf of Cope, I rise to express our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the late Comrade Mandla Mbili, as well as to the ANC, who were also his family.

 

Death is a thief that comes in the night, when it is least expected, to strike a blow, leaving a family and a collective weakened and hurt. The passing on of Comrade Mandla Mbili came as a shock to us, his colleagues in the standing committee, while he was still recovering from a similar car accident.

 

We want to say that, more and more, motorcars are becoming coffins on wheels. To his family we say: Our hearts are reaching out to you for what you are going through. As for hon members and colleagues of the late Comrade Mbili, we know the pain you are going through. As members of this House, as we say farewell to this comrade, we must remember that he was one of us.

 

He was upfront. He spoke his mind, thinking less of personal consequences, while serving in the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Scopa, before he came to the Standing Committee on Appropriations, Scoa. Of course, we remember the stand he took on corruption. I would like to end this tribute to him by reading a short poem, written by H Kenya, titled The Loss of A Loved One:

 

The loss of a loved one is so hard to face,

you just want to hide,

go somewhere and escape!

But death is something

we all must go through,

I know it’s hard when it’s someone you loved and knew.

 

Just know now,

he is in a better place,

no more hurt or pain shall he face.

It seems unfair and, yes, this is true,

but he is in Heaven now

waching over me and you!

 

God has called him home to rest!

And he’s being well taken care of

Because God knows best!

 

May his soul rest in peace!

 

Mr N SINGH: Thank you very much, hon Speaker and colleagues. It was with a deep sense of shock that I received a text message early on the morning of 11 July 2012 from an unknown person who was in possession of my contact number, indicating that Comrade Mbili had been involved in a motorcar accident. I was struck with disbelief. My immediate reaction was to get into my motorcar and drive to his home, which is about seven or eight minutes away, at Umgababa, where the sad news of his death was confirmed.

 

What was shocking is that the night before, as I drove with my wife from Durban to the South Coast, I noticed police cars and an ambulance at a particular spot on the N2 national highway. It is a spot where one would never expect an accident to take place. There was no sign of any vehicle on the road.

However, I realised the next morning that the vehicle of hon Mbili had gone over the barrier and was not visible from the road. It was shocking to know that I had passed without even knowing that a friend and neighbour - we called each other ``makhelwane’’ [neighbour]- had passed on in that tragic accident.

 

On a social level, we visited each other’s homes quite often. I know I visited his home when he had had two accidents prior to this one. I also went there with my wife and we used to enjoy braais together. We used to socialise and, as colleagues would know, we used to exercise together. The way we used to exercise was to go for a walk. Accompanying us on that walk used to be somebody called Johnny. And Johnny, since we came from the pre-apartheid era, had to be black! That is why we took Johnny Black with us when we were socialising. [Laughter.]

 

You would know when hon Mbili was around, even on an aeroplane. We used to travel very often on the six o’clock aeroplane from Durban to Cape Town and then back to Durban on Friday. Even a blind person would have known that hon Mbili had come on board the plane, because everybody knew when hon Mbili was around. He had that kind of bubbly character, which was spoken about earlier on. He was loud, but he loved life. As the other hon members said, it is tragic that the Almighty, in whose hands we all find ourselves, had to take him away at such a young age.

 

At a parliamentary level, when he joined us, I was on Scopa, and he was too. It is sad that two very active members of Scopa, hon Mavis Matladi and hon Mbili, had to pass on. Both of them were committed in their resolve to ensure that there was accountability for public funds. Some of you, colleagues, would recall that hon Mbili once made a director-general cry. We were in the Old Assembly Chamber and, given his robust questioning, she had no choice but to cry because she could not provide answers. Hon Mbili would not hesitate when somebody - whether a director-general or financial officer – said, “Well, you know, we reported this official to the police.” He would say: “Chairperson, can that hon member give us the case number because I will phone my friend, Commissioner Bheki Cele, to find out if a charge has been laid against that official.” He would do it then and there! That is the kind of robust questioning he used to perform.

 

I have no doubt that hon Mavis Matladi and hon Mbili will set up a standing committee on accountability in the place we are all going to one day. I feel sorry for the angels, even for Satan, because they are going to make them account for the good and the bad that they do. [Laughter.] I can hear him saying in my left ear, “You know what, Comrade Naren, we have done that already. You are too slow in asking us to do that.”

 

To the representatives of the family who are here - Mr Sibongiseni Sibiya, Sithabile and the sisters who are here, as well as other family members, and to the ANC, you have lost a very committed member. On behalf of the IFP, I want to offer our heartfelt condolences to his close friend, Ndabenhle Mkhize, and say ...

 

Hamba kahle, mfowethu! Ngiyabonga! [Rest in peace, brother. Thank you!]

 

Mr S Z NTAPANE: Mr Speaker and hon members, the UDM extends its condolences to the family, friends and the ANC on the tragic and untimely death of the late hon Mandlenkosi Enock Mbili, who died in a car accident on 10 July 2012.

 

The late hon Mandlenkosi Mbili was an exceptional political leader who served on a number of parliamentary committees, such as the Portfolio Committee on Finance and, recently, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Scopa.

 

Like some in this House, I also had the privilege of interacting and engaging with the late hon Mbili. In all my interactions with him, he was committed to improving the effectiveness of parliamentary oversight. He also wanted a Parliament that truly represented the needs of the people. From the day I first met him until he passed on, I saw a gentleman and a very neat person.

 

We know that nothing we say will ease your pain. However, we trust that you will somehow find solace in the shining legacy of the selfless hard work he leaves behind. May his soul rest in peace. [Applause.]

 

Dr C P MULDER: Agb Speaker, ons as die VF Plus wil ons baie graag assosieer met die mosie wat vandag deur die Hoofsweep van die ANC voorgestel is. Dit is ’n mosie van roubeklag ter herdenking van ons kollega, die agb Mandlenkosi Enock Mbili.

 

Dit is onafwendbaar so dat die dood deel van die werklikheid is. Dit is iets wat niemand kan ontsnap nie, en dit is wat voorle.vir ons elkeen wat vandag hier sit. Tog, wanneer dit die dag gebeur met iemand soos ons kollega, dan tref dit ’n mens. Ons is nooit daarop voorberei nie. Dit kom onverwags, veral waar die kollega nie siek was nie en dit in ’n motorongeluk gebeur. Dit is vir ons almal skokkend en ons is hartseer daaroor.

 

Ek wil graag ons medelye aan sy gesin en familie oordra – hulle wat agterbly en vir wie dit baie moeilik gaan wees om ’n alleenpad te loop, met mooi herinneringe van ’n geliefde wat vir hulle daar was en wat nie nou meer daar is nie. Ons wil ook aan sy party, van wie hy ’n staatmaker was en waar hy ’n groot rol gespeel het, ons opregte meelewing en simpatie oordra.

 

Dit is gepas dat die Parlement op hierdie wyse nabetragting hou en erkenning en huldiging gee aan die lewe van ons kollega wat afgesterf het. Ons opregte simpatie en meelewing. Ons dink aan u. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)

 

[Dr C P MULDER: Hon Speaker, we, as the FF Plus, would really like to associate ourselves with the motion that was moved today by the Chief Whip of the ANC. It is a motion of condolence in commemoration of our colleague, the hon Mandlenkosi Enock Mbili.

 

It is inevitable that death is part of reality. It is something that none of us can escape, and something that is awaiting each one of us sitting here today. Still, the day when it happens to someone like our colleague, one is deeply affected by it. We are never really prepared for it. It hits us unexpectedly, especially when the colleague was not sick and passed away in a car accident. It comes as a shock to all of us and we are saddened by it.

 

I would really like to convey our condolences to his family – those who are left behind and for whom it is going to be very difficult to continue on their own, with loving memories of a loved one who was always there for them, but now is not there anymore. We would also like to convey our heartfelt sympathies to his party, of which he was a stalwart and where he played a major role.

 

It is fitting for Parliament, in this manner, to reflect, acknowledge and pay tribute to the life of our colleague who passed away. Our sincere condolences. We are thinking of you. [Applause.]]

Mr S N SWART: Speaker, the ACDP joins this House in conveying our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the hon Mandlenkosi Mbili, who tragically passed away on 10 July 2012 as a result of a car accident.

 

Hon Mbili will be well remembered for his unwavering commitment and invaluable contribution to this House, where he participated in a number of portfolio committees, including appropriations. He also served as Whip for Scopa, a role that he, by all accounts, pursued with great vigour and fearlessness, and one in which his propensity for detail flourished.

 

Parliament’s most recent In Session magazine quoted Mr Mbili’s fellow Scopa members, who described him as “a colourful character, lively and easy-going, whose commitment was beyond doubt.” According to speakers at his memorial service earlier today, he was not shy to speak his mind and understood what a robust Parliament was all about.

 

He was also known to speak out robustly against corruption. He was one of the ANC’s hardest-working and most committed MPs in Parliament and in his home constituency in KwaZulu-Natal.

 

The ACDP extends its deepest condolences to his brother and daughters – who are with us today – to his wife and the rest of his family and friends. Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this time. May the Lord be your comfort and grant you peace. [Applause.]

 

Mr I S MFUNDISI: Hon Speaker and hon members, when, during recess, I received the message from the Office of the Chief Whip that the hon Mandlenkosi Mbili had been called thither, I did not believe it.

 

I knew Mandlenkosi from the last Parliament, though he caught up with us midstream. He had this knack of looking and asking for facts, even in ordinary discussions. He was injured after joining Parliament and recuperated for a considerable time but, on his return, he hit the ground running.

 

When the current Parliament started, hon Mbili served as Whip of Scopa. Although I was serving in the North West Provincial Legislature at that time, there was a revival of old excitements and discussions when we met on occasions when all committees of public accounts would come together.

 

Mandlenkosi was always a friendly man and it was meet and proper that he was given the role of a Whip in the ruling party. He had leadership qualities, such as accepting people from other fronts and their views. When I was again deployed to the National Assembly in January 2012, hon Mbili never ceased to make me welcome, and his constant refrain was that we had come to meet at the right place.

 

Mandlenkosi will be missed in the corridors of Parliament. His lanky figure with the limp will no longer tower over some of us as we move in the corridors between the Old Assembly and the new buildings. We take comfort that he graced our lives and accept that he has gone the way of all flesh.

 

Our condolences from the UCDP go to all his family members, friends, the constituency he served and the broader ANC membership. May his soul rest in peace.

 

Mr L M MPHAHLELE: Hon Speaker ... mokgapa o mogolo o wele dinong le dinonyana tša lla mašokošo, tša lla tswii ke senanatswiding [... a hero has fallen; we are deeply saddened by his death].

 

In this gloomy hour of loss and sorrow, the PAC sends its condolences to the bereaved family of Comrade Mandlenkosi Mbili. In the same breath, we commiserate with the ANC, the political home of the late Comrade Mbili.

 

Comrade Mbili was a great human being. He was respectful and had a sharp sense of humour. He affectionately called me ``Mongameli’’, and he would bow as he saluted me. For as long as I knew him, I never saw him in a foul mood. In the words of Percy Bysshe Shelley, an English poet, he was a blithe spirit. The corridors of Parliament will not be the same without him.

 

Hamba kahle, Nontshongela. [Rest in peace, Nontshongela.]

 

Mr E M SOGONI: Hon Speaker, hon members, comrades and friends, may I start by expressing my heartfelt condolences to the Mbili family, to Mr Mbili’s beloved children, friends, comrades in the province and the entire family of his organisation, the ANC. Comrade Mbili’s sudden death came as a great shock to all of us, especially his colleagues in the Standing Committee on Appropriations.

 

He was involved in a serious accident before this one, which burnt his car beyond recognition, but he survived. He was then hospitalised for some time. The standing committee members kept in contact with him. I know that hon Singh and Snell visited him at his place while he was off sick. I contacted him a week before he was involved in this last accident. During our conversation, he informed me that he was ready and had recuperated enough to come back to work. He met his untimely death a day before he was supposed to be discharged by the doctor.

 

I met Comrade Mbili during the previous term of Parliament, when he served as a member of the Portfolio Committee on Finance, as it was known at that time. Those who worked with him would know how he enjoyed taking people on in committee discussions. He had this propensity for detail - something that does not always sit well with officials who appear before committees.

 

I also remember, when Parliament was supposed to pass the Financial Management of Parliament Bill, that the issue at the time was whether there should be oversight over Parliament itself. The Parliamentary Oversight Authority was not comfortable with the fact that they would have to account to somebody. However, Comrade Mbili and other members insisted that it be included in the Bill, which is an Act today, so that Parliament could account to some structure. That was finally adopted by everyone in the committee.

 

When the President, in his state of the nation address in 2009, said that Parliament should be an activist Parliament, Comrade Mbili was one of those members who grabbed the challenge with both hands, ensuring that departments accounted to Parliament. The ANC had deployed him as a Whip in the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Scopa, and he took on that responsibility with great enthusiasm. Comrade Mandla believed that the executive authority, as enjoined by the Constitution, was accountable to Parliament and therefore it also needed to appear before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts. Comrade Mandla Mbili’s interpretation caused tension but once he had formulated a particular view in his mind, it was difficult to convince him otherwise.

 

Hon Mbili subsequently joined the Standing Committee on Appropriations with all the necessary energy. The Standing Committee on Appropriations got a lot of mileage out of his participation in the committee. He believed in oversight and accountability, like all members of the committee. He did not want officials to assume that they knew what the committee wanted to hear. His view, shared by all of us in the committee, was that the truth had to be told as it was.

 

I can remember some examples. For instance, officials of a certain department once received an adjustment of R700 million on the previous financial year’s spend. The officials promised that that money would be spent by the end of the financial year - March this year. The officials told the committee that they had signed a memorandum of understanding with the construction industry, including contractors who were supposed to do that work and that not all who signed the memorandum of understanding were going to close over Christmas. That did not go down well with the committee, including Comrade Mandla Mbili. The rest is history, as the committee discovered that no such agreements existed. We give credit to Comrade Mandla for demonstrating that paying attention to the details was an important part of the committee’s work and not just a principle.

 

Comrade Mbili stammered, but he was always ready to put his point across very strongly. He was a fearless debater - of course you needed to persuade him! He called a spade a spade, whether he was right or not. As long as he believed in a point, he would stand to defend his view.

 

As the chairperson, I did not escape being on the receiving end of his feelings in one of our study group meetings. I never shared this with members of the opposition and I hope they are not listening today! I thought a general feeling existed among committee members. The issue was related to an overseas study tour that the committee was supposed to undertake. Every arrangement had been made for the committee to undertake that trip. However, the trip had not yet been realised.

 

In that study group, Comrade Mandla told me to my face that this trip was failing because “the chairperson does not want the trip to happen”. Everyone in the study group seemed to agree with him. I kept quiet because I thought it would not help me to argue with him over this; I would not be able to convince him. Hon members wanted the study tour to take place so that they could compare and contrast their experiences with those of other places. I am sure Comrade Mbili, wherever he is, will be pleased to see the study tour materialise. To him it was a matter of principle, not because he would be part of the delegation. He was always ready to raise hard questions.

 

This House will remember his last speech, which was misconstrued to a certain extent. He was referring to the degraded infrastructure at Mthatha. He thought the democratic government had not done enough to improve the road infrastructure there. We are happy today to report that that area has become a presidential project. Whether it was already in planning then or not, we give credit to Comrade Mandla Mbili because he raised the issue very strongly in this House.

 

He grew up in an Inkatha-dominated area, but we have learnt that he was always an ANC member, despite all the violence taking place around him. He was a dedicated member of the ANC, who believed that the ANC-led government could achieve a better life for the poor. This he did by ensuring that the budget was spent on what it was intended for. He was an activist, not only in politics, as we heard at the memorial service, but also of the church.

 

A spear of the nation has fallen and ANC members must pick up the spear and forge forward towards a better life. We will miss him greatly. Long live the spirit of Comrade Mandla. Thank you. [Applause.]

 

The SPEAKER: The condolences of the House will be conveyed to the Mbili family and to the ANC. The Deputy Speaker and I join in expressing our condolences.

 

Debate concluded.

 

Agreed to, members standing.

DEATH OF PRESIDENT OF GHANA

 

(Draft Resolution)

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Hon Speaker, I move without notice:

 

   That the House —

 

(1)        notes with sadness the death of Ghana’s president, Mr John Atta-Mills, on 24 July 2012 at the age of 68;

 

(2)        further notes that he earned a law degree from the University of Ghana in 1967 and a doctorate from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London;

 

(3)        acknowledges that he wrote widely on taxation and was later Ghana’s commissioner of internal revenue;

 

(4)        believes that he had a calming and stabilising influence and under his leadership, Ghana’s democracy was consolidated; and

 

(4) extends its heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, colleagues and the people of Ghana.

 

Agreed to.

The SPEAKER: The presiding officers associate themselves with the motion. The condolences of the House will be conveyed to the Atta-Mills family and to the people of Ghana.

 

EXTENSION OF REPORTING DEADLINE FOR AD HOC COMMITTEE ON CODE OF JUDICIAL CONDUCT AND REGULATIONS

 

(Draft Resolution)

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Hon Speaker, I move without notice:

 

That the House extends the deadline by which the Ad Hoc Committee on the Code of Judicial Conduct and Regulations on Judge’s Disclosure of Registrable Interests has to report, to 23 November 2012.

 

Agreed to.

 

CONSTRUCTION OF BRIDGE IN MANKELE COMPLETED

 

(Member’s Statement)

Ms T E LISHIVHA (ANC): The ANC welcomes the completion of the R87 million bridge at Mankele, which has created a vital link between the villagers and the outside world. It has modernised travelling for the people of Mankele in Limpopo. Before the completion of this bridge, the rural villagers were cut off from the neighbouring villages of Mamogolo and Penge, and from the rest of the world, by the notorious overflowing of the Lepelle River, formerly known as the Olifants River. They had to risk life and limb to cross the river in an unsafe, makeshift cablecar, which the villagers call a segwaigwai. With the construction of the bridge, the lives of people in Mankele have changed for the better and the new bridge has opened up new development and opportunities as taxis and buses become available to the villagers.

 

This initiative is part of the ANC’s mandate to take service to all the areas where people live, especially rural areas, and of its commitment to modernise the countryside and bring dignity to rural dwellers through rural development programmes. Similar projects should be emulated in other remote areas.

 

LETTERS FROM LIMPOPO LEARNERS ON THE STATE OF THEIR EDUCATION

 

(Member’s Statement)

 

Mrs A T LOVEMORE (DA): Mr Speaker, in this sitting the DA will be using its full allocation of member’s statements to read out letters to the President sent to us by high school children from the Mopani District in Limpopo. We intend to deliver the letters to the President in a few weeks’ time. These letters are a testament to the real impact that the lack of textbooks in Limpopo has had on learners, despite the Department of Basic Education’s attempts to convince people otherwise. These letters also reveal the full extent of the education department’s failure to provide a basic education service that is free from fear, hardship and corruption. In the words of one school child:

 

Dear President, we need more educators and we lack subjects. We need more books because learners are suffering. At my school, things are not okay because learners and teachers are crying. Yours faithfully, Mariwale.

 

[Applause.]

 

LEARNERS FROM LIMPOPO BEARING THE BRUNT OF CORRUPTION

 

(Member’s Statement)

 

Mr W M MADISHA (COPE): Speaker, the learners of Limpopo and the Eastern Cape, their families and the whole South Africa are paying the price for rampant corruption and incompetence, which is being tolerated and even actively promoted by some in the ANC government. The governing party has lost its moral compass. It is willing to punish young school-going South Africans, who are supposed to benefit from postapartheid education, in order to enrich politically connected comrades through dodgy school book tenders.

 

There is no sense of political accountability. Neither the Minister of Basic Education nor the MECs in the provinces is prepared to accept that they failed the nation. They presided over education departments where, according to a report released by the Auditor-General, senior officials in Limpopo were involved in corrupt business dealings with the state’s money amounting to about R30 million. This begs the question whether national and provincial departments have become criminal networks where officials and ANC-linked businesses continue to feed from the public’s money, knowing that there will be no consequences for their corrupt practices.

 

Given the damaging impact on learners, continued wastage of taxpayers’ money and refusal by the Minister to take accountability for the crisis, Cope calls on the Minister to resign. [Time expired.]

 

SERVICE DELIVERY PROTESTS IN THE WESTERN CAPE

 

(Member’s Statement)

 

Ms A VAN WYK (ANC): Hon Deputy Speaker, the ANC is concerned that the DA is laying the blame for service delivery protests at the ANC’s feet instead of addressing the genuine grievances of the poor communities in the Western Cape, where the DA governs. This year alone, quite a few major protest actions took place in the Western Cape, in areas such as Villiersdorp, Grabouw, Sir Lowry’s Pass, Malawi Camp, Freedom Park, Phumlani Village and Sweet Home Farm, to name a few. The widespread service delivery protests which engulfed the Western Cape can never be at the instigation of the ANC, but should be laid at the door of the poor service delivery record of the DA in poor Western Cape communities.

 

Just last week, without any consultation, the DA in Drakenstein reduced the free units of electricity of indigents. That was after deciding unilaterally that families could no longer bury their deceased where they stayed but had to bury them in Hermon, 35 km away from Paarl.

 

The ANC is calling on the DA to desist from playing politics with serious issues affecting poor communities and conducting witch hunts to lay the blame elsewhere. It should rather deliver services to all the people in the communities of the Western Cape, regardless of their status. These protests expose the DA government’s lack of will to address issues in poorer communities.

 

The ANC remains committed to addressing the challenges facing all our communities to speed up the provision of services such as roads, water, infrastructure, sanitation and electricity. Together, we can do more, and we call on the DA to do their bit.

 

SECURITY IN KWAZULU-NATAL SCHOOLS

 

(Member’s Statement)

 

Mr A M MPONTSHANE (IFP): The IFP was shocked to learn of the death of Mpendulo Mzulwini, a learner at Egagasini Secondary School in Umlazi, KwaZulu-Natal, who was stabbed by unknown assailants in the school grounds. The motive behind the killing seems to revolve around the R500 he was carrying to pay for his matric dance. The assailants were trespassing on school property when this incident occurred, which shows a major lapse in security measures at our schools.

 

This was the sixth knife-related incident at a KwaZulu-Natal school. Questions need to be asked as to why it was so easy for nonlearners to enter school grounds without meeting any resistance, attack a learner and get away without being stopped or identified.

 

Section 8(a) of the Education Laws Amendment Act of 2007 gives guidelines on how random searches for drugs and illegal weapons should be conducted at schools, yet these are not being adhered to. Learners and even criminals are constantly bringing illegal weapons to schools. If we do not act decisively, the senseless killing of our children will continue unabated.

 

FAILURE TO DELIVER TEXTBOOKS IN LIMPOPO AND OTHER PROVINCES

 

(Member’s Statement)

Mr J J MCGLUWA (ID): Deputy Speaker, this country is experiencing a disaster in education. Seeing the status of education in Limpopo is like watching a horror movie. It is totally unacceptable that the public is forced to get a court interdict to assure the delivery of textbooks, which is a basic constitutional right in our new democracy. Minister Motshekga owes this country an explanation. We demand a full report, not only on Limpopo, in fact, but the whole country. Other provinces are experiencing the same problems, but they are not being discussed.

 

Just yesterday, in the North West province, the Delareyville Primary School in my constituency was told during an inspection that books were being delivered to the regional office but to the wrong schools and that they did not know where these textbooks were. No English textbooks for Grade 2 learners and mathematics textbooks for the senior grades have been delivered to this day. Only a few of the books for the Grade 2 foundation learners have been received. Teacher guidelines have also not been received.

 

It is a disgrace - this school consists of 80% previously disadvantaged learners. Minister Chabane, the Minister in the Presidency: Performance Monitoring and Evaluation as well as Administration in the Presidency, must inform this House why his monitoring never picked up these problems. He must tell us why the Minister of Basic Education is left to her own devices, to evaluate herself, giving herself a B minus. We want to know from Minister Chabane whether he is going to submit a report card on the Minister; and if it is anything less than a fail, then he is clearly not doing his job. [Applause.]

 

MR JOE THLOLOE WINS NAT NAKASA AWARD FOR MEDIA INTEGRITY

 

(Member’s Statement)

 

Mr T BONHOMME (ANC): Madam Deputy Speaker, the ANC welcomes the recent awarding of the Nat Nakasa Award to Mr Joe Thloloe for media integrity. This award is handed out annually by Print Media SA, the SA National Editors’ Forum, Sanef, and the Nieman Society in recognition of journalists who showed integrity and reported fearlessly, displaying a commitment to serve the people of South Africa.

 

Thloloe, who is currently the Press Ombudsman, formerly served as Sanef chairperson, as deputy chairperson of the South African Editors’ Forum, and as president of the Union of Black Journalists and the Media Workers’ Association of South Africa. He has had an illustrious career in journalism, spanning five decades. He was a Nieman fellow at Harvard University in 1998 and former editor-in-chief at both SABC news and e-tv. Joe Thloloe was also the recipient of the Order of Ikhamanga in Silver from President Zuma in April this year for his contribution and achievements in journalism.

 

The Nat Nakasa Award was named after Nathaniel Ndazana Nakasa, a South African journalist who died in exile in 1965 at the age of 28. Nakasa’s writing was critical of the repressive apartheid government. When he was awarded the Nieman fellowship to study journalism at Harvard University in 1964, the apartheid regime rejected his application for a passport. He later died in exile and was buried in New York. There are plans to bring his remains back to Durban. [Time expired.] [Applause.]

 

LETTER OF COMPLAINT FROM LIMPOPO SCHOLAR

 

(Member’s Statement)

 

Mrs S P KOPANE (DA): Madam Speaker, this is an unedited letter from David Woumans, a young South African from Limpopo:

 

Dear President, we need safety in our schools because people that are not attending school at my school come to steal our computers. We need more transport to our school because other students come to our school with wet clothes on rainy days and they end up not concentrating because they feel cold. We need more teachers because others are still in hospital being ill. From David Woumans

 

This is an example of a simple request from a learner who just wants to ensure he receives the best possible education. [Applause.]

 

GRANTING OF LICENCE FOR BUILDING OF METROWIND’S VAN STADENS WIND FARM

 

(Member’s Statement)

 

Mrs B TINTO (ANC): Madam Deputy Speaker, the ANC welcomes the granting of a licence and the final go-ahead to MetroWind Property Limited to build and operate a 27 megawatt wind farm. This is a groundbreaking R550 million renewable energy project, the Van Stadens Wind Farm in the Eastern Cape, which is expected to start supplying power to the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in the next 13 months.

 

The generation licence permits MetroWind to operate the first energy-from-wind project to be developed in South Africa, to generate electricity at its Van Stadens facility and to sell this power to Eskom for a period of 20 years. The MetroWind project will use state-of-the-art technology, designed to minimise any negative impact on the environment. Moreover, this project is 100% South African-owned by black economic empowerment, with an interest of 35%.

 

Furthermore, this project is expected to contribute to job creation, ensure the localisation of renewable energy technologies, aid economic development, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and introduce diverse energy sources. The project is in line with the ANC government’s decision to move towards renewable energy sources in accordance with its integrated resource plan, which seeks to increase the overall contribution ... [Time expired.]

 

IFP VICTORY IN WARD ELECTIONS

 

(Member’s Statement)

 

Mr M A MNCWANGO (IFP): Madam Deputy Speaker, the IFP recently gained resounding victory in Ward 8, in uPhongolo Municipality, and Ward 5, in uMtshezi Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal. The people in these wards have spoken through their votes and made it clear that they have confidence in the IFP’s ability to deliver services without the need to form a coalition in order to gain majority control and undermine the people’s wishes to choose their leader.

 

We congratulate the IFP representatives and call upon them to work with the communities that elected them to reduce crime and unemployment and increase access to health facilities and quality education. [Applause.]

 

CONGRATULATIONS TO SOUTH AFRICAN ATHLETES AT 2012 LONDON OLYMPICS

 

(Member’s Statement)

 

Mr G P D MACKENZIE (Cope): Madam Deputy Speaker, Cope would like to congratulate Team South Africa, which currently occupies 13th place in the gold medal standings, having achieved three gold medals and one silver medal at the London 2012 Olympics. We are optimistic about the possibility of achieving another two gold medals, in the javelin and mountain bike disciplines.

 

However, the Minister of Sport and Recreation should not take the gloss off our achievement and overshadow it with his alleged activities in London while accompanying our athletes to the Games. It is alleged that the Minister used taxpayers’ money to host the expelled former ANC youth leader, Julius Malema, at the Corinthia Hotel in London. If these allegations are true, then the Minister would have done irreparable damage to the country, the department and, of course, to himself.

 

In addition to the above, Cope would like an accurate financial budget of the expenses of the Minister’s trip to London to establish whether the Minister received any corporate sponsorship for his trip. Up until now, the Minister’s spokesman has continued to evade all questions. Cope wants an unambiguous answer to these vexing questions. The claim that this information is posted on the Ministry’s website is questionable, as Cope has been unable to access it. [Applause.]

 

EDUCATION CENTRAL TO ANC POLICY

 

(Member’s Statement)

Ms N GINA (ANC): Madam Speaker, recently, hon Lindiwe Mazibuko, the parliamentary leader of the DA, challenged the ANC to match the DA’s textbook delivery in the Western Cape. Firstly, let us be clear: The ANC regarded education as a key priority delivery area long before the DA ventured onto the political scene. [Interjections.] The ANC cared about educating the majority of people in the country ... [Interjections.] ... at a time when black children, particularly Africans, were receiving substandard education back in 1976.

 

Secondly, as the ruling party, the ANC’s commitment to education extends beyond one province and, as such, it focuses on the bigger picture rather than on an island. The ANC has a responsibility to all citizens, not merely to the white and the privileged residing in Cape Town, like the DA.

 

Thirdly, we consider the building of more schools as being vital to advancing and improving the quality of education - not closing down 27 schools purely because it is expedient, as the DA is planning to do in the Western Cape. Adequate reasons for the closure of these schools have not yet been forwarded, thus the appeal filed by the Equal Education Law Centre on behalf of Equal Education.

 

The appeal demands that the DA MEC furnishes the names of the schools that the department was considering closing, matric pass rates for the relevant schools for 2010 and 2011, a list naming all the underperforming schools in the province, with their pass rates for the past two years, and supporting documentation indicating processes that the department was intending to follow in closing these schools. We await the outcome. [Applause.]

 

LETTERS ON EDUCATION TO PRESIDENT BY STUDENTS

 

(Member’s Statement)

 

Mr J F SMALLE (DA): Deputy Speaker, here is another letter to the President:

 

Dear Mr President, please, will you communicate to the Minister of Basic Education about our educational textbooks, because we are short of them at our school? May you please talk to the Minister of Basic Education about the shortage of educators, so that we may be able to study and become what we want in life? Lastly, can you please send our school some money, so that we can get more resources, learn hard and also practise our talents? Yours faithfully, Elmina Modiba.

 

[Applause.]

 

HYPOCRISY OF F W DE KLERK

 

(Member’s Statement)

 

Mr M M DIKGACWI (ANC): Madam Speaker, the last apartheid president of South Africa, Mr F W de Klerk, has been very vocal in the past months about his concern for the country. He has voiced his defence of the Bantustan policies, his view that blacks in the homelands were not disenfranchised and that he would have acted decisively in the current education textbooks crisis.

 

This is the same De Klerk who, during the negotiation processes for our freedom, employed stalling tactics in the hope that he would share power, who negotiated in bad faith and was contradictory to the point where, at one stage, President Mandela broke off the negotiations. This is the same man who, as apartheid education Minister, fought through a law empowering the state to impose racial quotas on universities to limit the ratio of black to white students, with subsidy cuts if universities did not comply. He also went further and used state subsidies to hold universities to ransom in order to crack down on anti-apartheid activists and to compel the institutions to report incidents of misconduct to him. This resulted in huge, nationwide protests by academics.

 

So, it is a bit rich and hypocritical of him and his kind to sit in judgment on the current education system. He was dismissive of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and denied culpability for any apartheid crimes committed on his watch. He has refused to apologise for his role in the apartheid regime, showing no remorse and leading Comrade Mandela to say that “De Klerk has little idea of what democracy means”. Those who align themselves with this “great white liberator” expose their true character. [Applause.]

 

SOUTH AFRICA’S HISTORY AND PERFORMANCE IN THE OLYMPIC GAMES

 

(Member’s Statement)

 

Mrs G K TSEKE: Deputy Speaker, South Africa’s history in the Olympic Games has endured great unevenness. We were banned under the apartheid regime, then rejoined to take our rightful place among other countries when we achieved liberation. As of today, we have secured three gold medals from two outstanding swimmers, Cameron van der Burgh, for the men’s 100m breaststroke, and Chad le Clos, for the men’s 200m butterfly event, as well as from our rowing team of James Thompson, Matthew Brittain, Sizwe Ndlovu and John Smith. Cameron also set a new world record when he won the final in 58,46 seconds, while Chad beat the US swimming legend Michael Phelps into second place. They all joined fellow gold medallists from previous Olympics, namely Penny Heyns, Josia Thugwane and our men’s freestyle relay team of swimmers Ryk Neethling, Roland Schoeman and the others. We look forward to more medals from the rest of Team SA participating in the Olympics.

 

South Africa is a sports-loving nation. To ensure that we redress the inequalities of the past, which extended to sports as well, and to develop more sporting talent in our country, the White Paper on Sports and Recreation, as well as the road map, seeks to assist with broadening the base of sports and recreation in South Africa.

 

South Africa will also participate in the Paralympics in London, which will take place from 29 August to 9 September 2012. We wish all the participants well.

 

LETTERS FROM LIMPOPO LEARNERS ON THE STATE OF THEIR EDUCATION

LEARNERS FROM LIMPOPO BEARING THE BRUNT OF CORRUPTION

LETTER OF COMPLAINT FROM LIMPOPO SCHOLAR

EDUCATION CENTRAL TO ANC POLICY

LETTERS ON EDUCATION TO PRESIDENT BY STUDENTS

FAILURE TO DELIVER TEXTBOOKS IN LIMPOPO AND OTHER PROVINCES

 

(Minister’s Response)

 

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF BASIC EDUCATION: Hon Deputy Speaker, let me unequivocally convey my heartfelt apologies to those learners in Limpopo for the late delivery of textbooks. We neither wish to defend nor condone it. Let me also take heart from and empathise with those learners who wrote those very polite and eloquent letters to the President. At least we can take comfort from the fact that they are indeed literate and have a good command of the language.

Having said that, perhaps I should try to explain to you that the challenges of education are enormous. We should recognise that in Limpopo, every Grade 1, 2 and 3 child to whom textbooks were to be delivered, but were not, had indeed received a workbook on literacy, numeracy, life skills and first additional language by the beginning of the year. In other words, ... [Interjections.] Well, it is an apology, but at the same time ... [Interjections.] Please, you wanted an explanation ... [Interjections.]

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Hon members, allow other people to hear the Deputy Minister’s explanation.

 

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF BASIC EDUCATION: The same applies to the Grade 2, 3 and 10 learners who were going to receive textbooks but had only received free textbooks in mathematics and science - Quintiles 1 to 5.

 

I wish to say that we have learnt hard lessons from the experience in Limpopo. Indeed, the appropriate and necessary steps are being taken to ensure that we never again repeat this failure or let this failure to deliver textbooks on time recur. We have listened to you as you raised your concerns and you should surely have the dignity to allow us to respond and explain.

 

Given the important challenges of literacy and numeracy in this country, one must at least recognise that today 56 million workbooks are being delivered to Grade 1 to 9 learners across the country, including the Western Cape, where the books are being delivered to schools. Today, as we look at the challenges of the infrastructure that we have to establish at schools, we notice that 27 schools are being closed in the Western Cape, while 49 are being built in the Eastern Cape. This is part of the effort to address the enormous challenges that we face in the system of education.

 

Today we have to recognise that every child among the 8,75 million children who go to school receives a meal every day. We have to recognise that in the context of the poverty and huge economic challenges that we face, more than 8 million children in our schools go to no-fee schools, where they are not expected to pay any fees. We have to recognise that more than 400 000 learners are being transported to school daily. We have to recognise that more than 1 000 schools are in partnership with the SA Police Service to ensure that we create an environment that is conducive to learning - that does not detract from the enormous challenges that we have in literacy and numeracy.

 

Basically, never before has any government been able to deliver books at the rate that we are, in order to enhance literacy and numeracy. Never before has this government, or any other, been able to test more than 6 million children on literacy and numeracy. Next month, every child between Grade 1 and 6 is, again, going to be tested on literacy and numeracy so that we can determine precisely whether they have made progress or not and what kind of interventions need to be made. I raise this in the context of the fact that yes, indeed, what occurred in Limpopo was not right and it cannot be condoned or defended.

 

Certainly, we are going to learn lessons from this experience and ensure that it does not repeat itself. However, we cannot be blind to other realities; where efforts are being made to ensure that quality education is being provided. We have always argued that the right to basic education is an unqualified right. We should certainly take every step to ensure that this is indeed provided to our children.

 

With regard to the UDM, it’s quite interesting that we have received ... [Interjections.]

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Madam Deputy Speaker, on a point of order: There is a time limit in our Rules for a Minister’s reply, and I humbly suggest that he has already exceeded his time.

 

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF BASIC EDUCATION: The truth hurts. It’s so hard to listen to the truth. With regard to the issue of corruption ... [Interjections.]

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Minister, that is correct - unless you are answering for all the Ministers? [Interjections.] Hon members, I am addressing a point of order. I don’t know why you are doing that.

 

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF BASIC EDUCATION: Hon Deputy Speaker, the reason why I spoke for so long is that there were six issues, raised by six different speakers. As a member of the executive, I have a responsibility to respond. [Interjections.]

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: No. Can I make an appeal? The members who raised those issues didn’t want to hear the answers. So, don’t respond. Your time is up. [Applause.]

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Madam Deputy Speaker, on a point of order, and a serious one: The remark you have just made is totally out of order. What you have just said is that members make statements, but they don’t want to hear the responses. I want you to withdraw that, please. I really want to ask you, seriously, to reconsider it.

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Do you know why I was saying that? While the Deputy Minister was speaking, everybody was making a noise! Everybody was making a noise while he was responding!

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Madam Deputy Speaker, you are supposed to be impartial, and your remark clearly ... [Interjections.]

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I think I am.

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: No, you are not! You are not! [Interjections.]

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I would say that it goes for this side too. [Interjections.]

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Madam Speaker, you have recognised me – may the Chief Whip please show some manners? [Interjections.]

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Hon Deputy Speaker, we demand that Mr Watson withdraws what he said about the Deputy Speaker ... [Interjections.]

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: I will not withdraw. [Interjections.]

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: ... because it is totally out of order. [Interjections.]

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: I demand that you sit down and listen! [Interjections.]

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: This House is not a place where you debate with the Speaker. It is a House where you make an input and subject yourself to the rulings of the Speaker.

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Madam Deputy Speaker, are you recognising me?

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you, hon Chief Whip. Mr Watson, do you have something more to say?

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: I was busy addressing you, Madam Deputy Speaker, when the Chief Whip of the ANC jumped up. I think he has forgotten what protocol in Parliament means. [Interjections.]

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: I didn’t jump up. I stood up.

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: I asked you to reconsider your remarks, Deputy Speaker.

 

Dr C P MULDER: Hon Deputy Speaker, on a point of order: It’s correct in terms of the Rules that the hon Minister should stick to his time, if there are other Ministers who would like to answer. I want to propose that, in terms of the Rules, you should give the Minister sufficient time to answer because this is a very important issue.

The fact of the matter is that numerous statements were made on this specific issue, education, and we needed a healthy answer. But, I am afraid, Madam Deputy Speaker, with all due respect, if you, as a Chairperson in the House, the Deputy Speaker, rule or say from the Chair that the Minister does not have to answer because members do not want to hear the answer, that is completely unacceptable. It is not for the Deputy Speaker to make such a statement. [Interjections.]

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Hon Deputy Speaker, with due respect to Mr Mulder, the conduct of some members of the opposition was such that the Deputy Speaker had no option but to ... [Interjections.]

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Madam Deputy Speaker, the Chief Whip does not have carte blanche.

 

Dr C P MULDER: Hon Deputy Speaker, I am still addressing you. If that was the case, then ... [Interjections.]

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, no, no, I recognised only one person, who is still on the floor.

 

Dr C P MULDER: Thank you.

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Some members complain when others jump up and speak before they are recognised.

 

Dr C P MULDER: Deputy Speaker, I waited for my turn.

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Can you observe that protocol?

 

Dr C P MULDER: Yes, I will do so.

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Continue, hon member.

 

Dr C P MULDER: I will conclude, hon Deputy Speaker. I think it’s not in order for you to decide on behalf of members who have just made statements that it is not for the Minister to answer because they didn’t want to hear the answers. That is not correct. If the members misbehaved while the Minister was speaking, you should have called them to order. The fact of the matter is that it’s not for you, with all due respect, to make such a ruling. I think you were out of order.

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you, hon member. What you didn’t hear was when a point of order was called about the time. I said I was under the impression that the Minister was answering many questions and immediately, from this side, there was a “no, no, no, he is supposed to stick to the question”. I was making a ruling on a point of order about the time, and while I said that he was answering more than one question, those comments still continued. That is why I made a ruling that he shouldn’t respond because I was sure they didn’t want responses. Based on that question, and given the noise while he was speaking, I genuinely thought the members didn’t necessarily need the responses. Can we move on from this item? Are there other Ministers who want to respond?

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Madam Deputy Speaker, on a point of order: I requested you to withdraw your statement ... [Interjections.]

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, no, I am not going to withdraw it. I made a ruling that the speaker mustn’t continue. [Interjections.]

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: No, I asked you to withdraw the ruling that we didn’t want to hear ... [Interjections.]

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, I am not going to do that. [Interjections.]

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: We didn’t ask for the information. [Interjections.]

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, sit down, Mr Watson, please. Hon Watson, sit down. [Interjections.]

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Are you refusing to withdraw it? [interjections.]

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Watson, sit down.

 

The MINISTER OF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES: Madam Deputy Speaker, with your permission, I would like to give my time to the hon Surty so that he can continue answering. [Applause.]

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Surty, you have the hon Gigaba’s time.

 

Mrs J D KILIAN: No, Madam Deputy Speaker, on a point of order: May I please address you on that issue?

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: On what issue now?

 

Mrs J D KILIAN: On the fact that you are now putting the question to hon Surty on whether he wants to take hon Gigaba’s time. There is no allocation to an individual Minister. The Rules are very clear: up to five Ministers may respond, but answers are directly related to the members’ statements made. None of the Ministers has the right to hand over his or her time to another Minister. The Rules do not make provision for that. On top of that, I want the Chief Whip to also take note of Rule 47.

 

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you very much, I have noted that.

The MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: My apologies to the hon Chief Whip of Cope, I thought she had finished. Deputy Speaker, I would like to ask that you examine whether the Chief Whip of the DA should withdraw the statement he made. I was not aware that the Chief Whip of the Opposition was actually a presiding officer and that he could rule anyone out of order. I believe this should be examined and he should be made to withdraw it. [Applause.]

 

USE OF OFFICIAL LANGUAGES BILL

 

(Second Reading debate)

 

The MINISTER OF ARTS AND CULTURE: Hon Deputy Speaker, Ministers and Deputy Ministers, hon members, manene nani manenekazi [ladies and gentlemen], it is my honour to present for consideration before this House the Use of Official Languages Bill. The Bill we are tabling today is a product of popular participation and countrywide consultation with all stakeholders.

 

Hon members, the Freedom Charter, which is the basis of our democratic Constitution and is a document that carries the aspirations of the majority of South Africans, states that “all people shall have an equal right to use their own languages and to develop their own folk culture and customs.”

 

Today, as we table this Bill, we are taking another giant leap forwards in realising the vision of those pioneers who adopted the Freedom Charter in 1955 and declared boldly that South Africa belonged to all who lived in it – black and white. Indeed, today we are taking a major step towards building a society based on unity, equality, democracy and dignity for all.

 

Hon members, the Constitution of our country urges us to heal the divisions of the past and to establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights.

 

Vanuit ons oogpunt is deel van die genesingsproses die behoefte om te verseker dat daardie tale wat in die verlede doelbewus in die samelewing gemarginaliseer is – veral die inheemse Afrikatale – gelyke status ontvang en ontwikkel word tot op die vlak van daardie tale wat dominant is. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)

 

[From our point of view it is part of the healing process to ensure that those languages that were intentionally marginalised in society in the past - especially the indigenous African languages - achieve equal status and are developed to the level of those languages that are dominant. [Applause.]]

 

The Bill we are tabling in this House is therefore aimed at ensuring that government elevates the status of indigenous languages especially and promotes their widespread use. This Bill will also make a massive contribution to the national effort to promote multilingualism. We wish to reiterate that this Bill is not aimed at diminishing the significance and use of any of the South African official languages. Through this Bill, we will promote the equitable use of all official languages.

 

In the long run, we will endeavour to promote equally the use of sign language as well. As a result of this Bill, South Africans will now have the opportunity to use the official languages of their choice in interacting with government. This, we believe, will strengthen efforts to ensure equal access to government services and programmes and thus contribute to the goal of building an empowered citizenry. Specifically, this Bill seeks to provide for the regulation and monitoring of the use of official languages by national government and public entities for their official purposes.

 

The Bill also provides for the establishment and functions of a national language unit and departmental language units. Through this Bill, we are giving effect to the provisions of section 6 of the Constitution. Section 6 of the Constitution not only identifies 11 official languages but also obliges the state to take practical and positive measures to elevate the status and advance the use of indigenous languages.

 

Vumbiwa byi hi byela na ku hi lerisa leswaku tindzimi ta ximfumo hinkwato ti fanele ti xiximiwa ku ringana naswona ti fanele ti khomiwa hi ndlela yo ringana. Ku xixima ku ringana swi vula leswaku tindzimi hinkwato ta ximfumo ti fanele ti xiximiwa no hlayisiwa hi ndlela yo fana. (Translation of Xitsonga paragraph follows.)

 

[The Constitution tells us and stipulates that all official languages must enjoy parity of esteem and must be treated equitably. Equitable treatment means that all official languages must be respected and preserved in the same manner.]

 

Hon members, this Bill applies to all national departments, national public entities and national public enterprises. It obliges every national department to adopt a language policy on the use of official languages for official purposes. In terms of the Bill, language policy by national departments should, among others, identify at least three official languages to be used for official purposes. The Bill requires that when identifying these three official languages, national departments must take into account their constitutional obligation to take steps to elevate the status and advance the use of indigenous languages whose historic use and status was previously diminished.

 

The Bill provides for the establishment of a national language unit that will, among others, advise the Minister of Arts and Culture on the policy and strategy to regulate and monitor the use of all official languages. It also provides for the establishment of language units in every national department, public entity and national public enterprise to advise on the development, adoption, implementation and monitoring of its language policy.

 

The Bill also gives powers to the Minister of Arts and Culture to monitor the use of official languages by getting reports from departments on the activities of their language units. The Minister is required, on an annual basis, to table a report to Parliament on the use of official languages for the provision of government services.

 

In conclusion ... Somlomo, sinethemba elikhulu ukuthi lo Mthethosivivinywa esiwubeka phambi kwale Ndlu ehloniphekile uzokwemukeleka. [... Speaker, we are very hopeful that the Bill we are tabling before this august House will be adopted.]

 

Adopting this Bill will ensure that we make new, decisive advances towards the kind of society envisaged by the Freedom Charter. This is a society that is a collective expression of our desire for a better, caring, humane and shared destiny for all South Africans.

 

As I end my speech, let me also take this opportunity to congratulate Team South Africa in London. May we have more medals as we go forward. Let me take the opportunity to thank all the members of the committee who assisted in ensuring that this Bill reached the House today. Ke a leboga, Ndi khou livhuwa, siyathokoza, inkomu. [Thank you.] [Applause.]

 

Me L N MOSS: Agb Adjunkspeaker, agb Ministers, agb Adjunkministers, agb parlementslede, maar mees belangrik, die inwoners van Suid-Afrika, ons stel hierdie wetgewing bekend in ’n belangrike maand waarin ’n historiese gebeurtenis plaasgevind het: Vrouedag, 9 Augustus 1956. Vrouedag het plaasgevind as gevolg van vroue wat onderdruk was, wat nie vry kon rondbeweeg nie en wat ook nie hul taal kon gebruik nie. Ek wil aanhaal: “Weg met diskriminasie, weg!”

 

Deur sy trotse geskiedenis het die ANC die regering gelei om toegewyd te wees tot die bou van nasionale eenheid, teen alle vorme van stamstelsels, rassisme en seksisme. Aanvanklik het ons die eenheid van alle Afrikaners gebou in hul stryd om vryheid en waarheid. Ons het verder gegaan om die eenheid van alle Suid-Afrikaners, ongeag ras, kultuur of godsdiens, te bevorder.

In 1955 het die Vryheidshandves verklaar dat Suid-Afrika aan almal behoort wat daarin woon, wit en swart. Deur die Vryheidshandves het ons ’n ander visie voorgehou as dié van die apartheidverlede. Dit was ’n verlede wat mense volgens ras, taal en geslag verdeel het en die oorgrote meerderheid mense in omstandighede van armoede en maatskaplike, ekonomiese en politieke uitsluiting gelaat het. Die einde van die heerskappy van die wit minderheid op 24 April 1994 was ’n nasionale, historiese deurbraak in ons stryd om ’n nuwe demokratiese grondwet te ontwikkel en daar te stel; die Grondwet wat ons sou lei om eenheid en kohesie te bou.

 

Die Departement van Kuns en Kultuur het ’n mandaat van die ANC-regering ontvang om die leiding te neem op die gebied van maatskaplike kohesie, insluitend die bevordering van ’n nasionale, kulturele identiteit. ’n Belangrike voorbeeld is die sukses wat behaal is met die gewildmaak van die volkslied. Die departement het dit goed geag om ’n belangrike voorbeeld te stel met die sukses van die gewildmaak van die volkslied, die landsvlag en die nasionale identiteit wat in die Grondwet van Suid-Afrika vervat is. Dit, tesame met maatskaplike dialoog, help om maatskaplike kohesie te bou en ’n meer verenigde nasie te skep. Mnr Mulder, ek hoop u luister. Die departement ondersteun ook nasionale gebeure wat mense bymekaar bring om die kulturele rykdom en identiteit van Suid-Afrika te eer.

 

Hierdie wetgewing het tot hewige debat in die media, veral die Afrikaanse media, gelei. Agb Thandi Sunduza het verwys na die groeiende persepsie dat die wetgewing die Afrikaanse taal sal vernietig. Dit is ’n verkeerde persepsie. Afrikaans gaan geensins deur die ANC of die regering tot niet gemaak word nie. Ek wil ook byvoeg dat die Portefeuljekomitee oor Kuns en Kultuur, die ANC-komponent daarvan, Afrikaans geensins die deur wil wys nie. Dit stuur die verkeerde boodskap aan die publiek. Dis geensins toepaslik en steun geensins nasiebou nie.

 

Die ANC is tevrede dat, gegewe die wysigings wat aangebring is, die wetsontwerp sal bydra tot die bevordering van ons land se tale. Die gebruik van amptelike tale deur nasionale departemente en openbare ondernemings moet taalbeleid word. Amptelike tale moet gebruik word vir regering en dienslewering. Dit sal produktiewe dienslewering tot gevolg hê. Lede van die publiek ontvang dienslewering in hul eie taal, byvoorbeeld dokumente, aansoekvorms vir dokumente, die Grondwet en beleidsrigtings. Ek moet ook sê dat dié instelling, die Parlement, ’n voorbeeld moet stel deur ook dokumente in al die tale te vertaal.

 

Vir ontwikkeling en nasiebou, kom ons vat hande, sit koppe bymekaar en bou die land op na ’n hoër vlak vir ons nageslag - wit, bruin en swart. Hierdie uitdaging sluit almal in, jonk en oud, wit en swart. Die President het ons voorheen uitgenooi na die nasiebou- en kohesieberaad wat plaasgevind het in Kliptown. Daar het ons ’n baie belangrike en historiese debat gehad oor hoe om die maatskaplike waardes en standaarde van demokrasie in Suid—Afrika te bevorder.

Voorsitter, ek wil afsluit met dié slagspreuk: “Weg met diskriminasie, weg”. Skep eenheid, ja, skep eenheid. Elke inwoner van Suid-Afrika moet die taal en kultuur van ander respekteer. Ek hoop dié kant van die Huis het dit gehoor. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)

 

[Ms L N MOSS: Hon Deputy Speaker, hon Ministers, hon Deputy Ministers, hon Members of Parliament and, most importantly, inhabitants of South Africa, we are introducing this legislation in an important month in which a historical event took place: Women’s Day, 9 August 1956. Women’s Day took place because of women who were being oppressed, who were unable to move about freely and who also could not use their own language. I want to quote: “Away with discrimination, away!”

 

Through its proud history the ANC has led the government in being committed to the establishment of national unity, against all forms of tribal systems, racism and sexism. Initially we established the unity of all Afrikaners in their struggle for freedom and truth. We continued by promoting the unity of all South Africans, regardless of race, culture or religion.

 

In 1955 the Freedom Charter declared that South Africa belongs to all who live there, white and black. With the Freedom Charter we held up a vision different from that of the apartheid past. That is a past which segregated people according to race, language and gender, leaving the vast majority of people in circumstances of poverty and social, economic and political exclusion. The end of domination by the white minority on 24 April 1994 was a national, historical breakthrough in our struggle to draft and establish a new democratic constitution; the Constitution that would lead us in the creation of unity and cohesion.

 

The Department of Arts and Culture has received a mandate from the ANC government to take the lead in the field of social cohesion, including the promotion of a national cultural identity. A significant example is the success that has been achieved with the popularisation of the national anthem. The department has deemed it right to set an important example with the success of popularising the national anthem, the national flag and the national identity as contained in the Constitution of South Africa. This, together with social dialogue, will assist in building social cohesion and creating a more unified nation. Mr Mulder, I hope you are listening. The department also supports national events that bring people together to honour South Africa’s cultural abundance and identity.

 

This legislation has led to intense debate in the media; notably the Afrikaans media. Hon Thandi Sunduza has referred to the growing perception that this legislation will destroy the Afrikaans language. This is an incorrect perception. Afrikaans is by no means going to be destroyed by the ANC or the government. I also want to add that the Portfolio Committee on Arts and Culture, its ANC component, in no way wishes to show Afrikaans the door. This sends the wrong message to the public. It is by no means applicable and not at all supportive of nation-building.

 

The ANC is satisfied that, given the effected amendments, this Bill will contribute to the promotion of our country’s languages. The use of official languages by national departments and public enterprises must become language policy. Official languages must be used for governance and service delivery. This will lead to productive service delivery. Members of the public receive service delivery in their own language, for instance documents, application forms for documents, the Constitution and policy trends. I must also state that this institution, Parliament, should also set an example by translating documents in all the languages.

 

As regards development and nation-building, let us join hands, put our heads together and lift this country to a higher level for our descendants – white, brown and black. This challenge includes everyone, young and old, white and black. The President previously invited us to the nation-building and cohesion summit that took place at Kliptown. There we had a very important and historical debate on how to promote the social values and standards of democracy in South Africa.

 

Chairperson, I want to conclude with this slogan: “Away with discrimination, away.” Create unity, yes, create unity. Every inhabitant of South Africa must respect the language and culture of others. I hope that that side of the House was listening. [Applause.]]

 

Mnr N J VAN DEN BERG: Agb Adjunkspeaker, Minister, dankie vir die uiteensetting wat u gegee het. U het vir die Huis ’n baie netjiese uiteensetting gegee van wat die wet beoog. Dit was baie goed. Dankie ook aan agb Moss vir haar bydrae. Dit het maar partykeer knyp-knyp gegaan. Die onderhandelingsproses se verloop was nie altyd so maklik soos wat agb Moss nou gesê het nie. Hier en daar was ’n paar dinge wat ons moedeloos gemaak het, maar op die ou einde het die saak reg verloop vir almal in Suid-Afrika.

 

Ek het as radio-omroeper die totale demokratiseringsproses van A tot Z meegemaak. Die vraag wat elke dag in die proses opgeduik het, was: hoe gaan ons, te midde van die wonderlike demokrasie wat ons verkry het, die mense van Suid-Afrika bymekaar hou? Die politieke ontleders het gepraat van die middelpuntvliedende kragte en die middelpuntsoekende kragte. Daar is gepraat van ``the high road and the low road [die regloop en die skeefloop.] scenarios’’. As ons kyk na die afgelope tyd se politiek, oor die jare vanaf 1994 heen, was daar oomblikke toe ons gedink het dinge gaan verkeerdloop. Gelukkig het Suid-Afrika ’n wonderlike leier gehad: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. Madiba het Suid-Afrika se mense bymekaar gehou en toe dit soms gelyk het asof sake kan skeefloop, was Madiba daar om ons deur die driwwe te dra. Hy het ons elke keer moed gegee wat die toekoms betref.

 

Ons was en is almal bang vir die middelpuntvliedende kragte wat ons hele samelewing uitmekaar kan skeur. Ons is bang vir die kragte wat mense uitmekaar dryf - soos die rasgedrewe politiek wat die ANC vandag handhaaf, geskep deur mnr Thabo Mbeki.

 

Die DA-beleid is eenvoudig. Ons is middelpuntsoekend. Ons bring mense bymekaar te midde van diversiteit; oor taalgrense heen. Dit is waar mense welkom voel. Hulle voel veilig by die DA.

 

Ons het nou die dag ’n beraad gehou om versoening te bereik. Daar is gepraat van nasionale kohesie. Dit was wonderlik om te luister na wat al die mense daar gesê het. Daar is nog baie woede en haat in mense se harte, maar dit was goed om hulle te hoor. Nasionale kohesie is ’n proses. Dikwels wil ons hier in Suid-Afrika van hierdie nasionale versoening en kohesie sommer net ’n dag-uitstappie maak. Dit is nie ’n dag-uitstappie nie. Dit is a permanente proses waaraan jy elke dag moet werk.

 

Ek is baie dankbaar vir die konsensus wat ons bereik het in die debat oor die wetgewing oor tale. Wat die toekoms betref, is dit maar net ’n enkele bousteen in die geskiedenis van Suid-Afrika wat ons nou in hierdie muur van Suid-Afrika vasgemessel het en waaroor almal saamstem. Ons moet elke dag in ons lewe meer aktief soek na wat ons bymekaar hou, wat ons bymekaar trek en waaroor ons konsensus het. Dan gaan ons die toekoms met groot vertroue instap.

 

Versoening hou nooit op nie, net soos ’n mens elke dag aan liefde moet werk. Madiba het ons bymekaar gehou. Hy was regtig ons rots van Gibraltar. Hy het ons geleer om te vergewe, mekaar lief te hê en te respekteer en om trots Suid-Afrikaans te wees.

 

Die vraag is nou: (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

 

[Mr N J VAN DEN BERG: Hon Deputy Speaker, Minister, I thank you for the explanation given. You gave the House a very precise explanation of what the Act intends to achieve. It was done extremely well. Thanks also to hon Moss for her contribution. At times things did not go that smoothly. The course that the process of negotiation took was not always that easy, as hon Moss just mentioned. At times a few things made us despondent, but in the end the matter turned out well for all of us in South Africa.

 

As a radio announcer, I experienced the entire process of democratisation from start to finish. The question which surfaced every day during the process was: How are we, in the midst of the wonderful democracy we inherited, going to keep the people of South Africa together? The political analysts referred to centrifugal and centripetal forces. High road and low road scenarios were mentioned. If we look at the politics of recent times, the years 1994 and hence, there were moments that we thought things would go wrong. Fortunately, South Africa had a wonderful leader: Nelson Rolihlala Mandela. Madiba kept South Africa’s people together and at times when it appeared matters would go wrong, Madiba was there to pull us through. Every time he gave us courage with regard to the future.

 

All of us were and are fearful of the centrifugal forces which can tear our whole society apart. We fear the forces that tear people apart – as is the case with the racially inspired politics which the ANC upholds today, initiated by Mr Thabo Mbeki.

 

The policy of the DA is simple. We are centripetal. We bring people together amidst our diversity; beyond language barriers. This is where people feel welcome. They feel safe within the DA.

 

The other day we held a conference aimed at conciliation. National cohesion was mentioned. It was wonderful to listen to everything all the people there had to say. There is still much anger and hate in people’s hearts, but it was good to listen to them. National cohesion is a process. Often we in South Africa simply want to deal with the issue as if this national conciliation and cohesion are similar to a day excursion. This is not a day excursion. It is a permanent process which you ought to work at every day.

 

I am very grateful for the consensus we achieved in the debate about the legislation regarding languages. With regard to the future this is but one building block in the history of South Africa which we have laid in this wall of South Africa and on which we all agree. Every day we should look more actively in our lives at that which holds us together, which pulls us together and about which we have consensus. Then we will approach the future with great confidence.

 

Conciliation never stops, just as one should work at love every day. Madiba kept us together. He really was our rock of Gibraltar. He taught us to forgive, to love and to respect each other and to be proudly South African.

 

The question is now:

 

Ke mang ya tla emang ka sebete ho kopanya le ho bopa setjhaba, hobane poelano ke seo re se hlokang? Empa ke DA e ka etsang sena! [Who will boldly stand up to unite and build the nation, because reconciliation is what we need? Yet it is only the DA that can achieve this!]

 

In die geskiedenis na 1994 sal dié talewet nog gesien word as ’n triomf vir nasiebou en ’n saluut vir ons Grondwet. Afdeling 6 van die Grondwet het hierdie wetgewing deurgetrek en die Grondwet was baie duidelik oor wat ons komitee moes doen.

 

Die DA se wekroep in dié onderhandelingsproses was eenvoudig: Ons het geveg vir die gelykberegtiging van alle tale. Die DA het vir alle tale in Suid-Afrika geveg, ook vir die minderheidstale in Limpopo. Ek het nie in die komitee net vir Afrikaans geveg nie. Vir my is Afrikaans belangrik, maar net so is die minderheidstale in Limpopo. Vir die mense wat dit praat, is dit hartsgoed. Ek het vir hulle ook baklei. Ek het baklei dat hierdie wet nie in so ’n ding moet ontwikkel wat ook daardie mense se tale kan skaad nie.

 

Die wet is dus ’n triomf vir tale. Die ANC bedryf sy politiek volgens ras- en taalgrense. Die DA is versoenend en kyk by taal- en kultuurgrense verby. Die DA soek na faktore wat ons bymekaar hou en in die toekoms bymekaar sal hou. Die DA het die leiers wat dit kan doen.

 

Dit gaan oor die toepassing van die wet. Ons almal weet die Pan-Suid-Afrikaanse Taalraad is ’n totale fiasko. Die Minister het die raad van die Pan-Suid-Afrikaanse Taalraad ontbind en nou lê die toekoms voor. Al wat ek hoop, is dat daar nie ’n klomp burokratiese amptenare iewers in ’n kantoor gaan sit en dan sommer tale kies, sonder om die demografie in elke provinsie in ag te neem nie. Ons moet versigtig wees om nie té populisties te wees nie.

 

Verlede week in Groutville, die hartplek van Hoofman Albert Luthuli, het ek ouma Faith Nwango ontmoet. Dit was by die Congregational Kerk, net langs Luthuli se graf. Sy het vir ons gebid. Sy het saam met Albert Luthuli aanbid. Ek vertrou dat dié gogo se demokratiese ideale lewendig gehou sal word, soos ons almal se demokratiese ideale. Dit is die taak wat hierdie Huis elke dag moet doen. Ons moet hand uitsteek na mekaar en mekaar se geskiedenis leer ken. Ek was dankbaar om by die graf van Hoofman Albert Luthuli te wees en te leer watter wonderlike dinge hierdie man gedoen het in die bereiking van vryheid in Suid-Afrika, soos ander leiers - mense soos Josiah Gumede en dr John Dube. Hulle was wonderlike mense met pragtige gedagtes wat stukrag gegee het aan die demokratiseringsproses.

Laat ons lief wees vir mekaar. Praat jou taal, want elkeen se taal is die mooiste in die wêreld. Alles wat ons aan moedersknie geleer het, moet ons bewaar, want dit gee vir elkeen van ons ’n identiteit. Ons moet mekaar se tale waardeer en vir mekaar lief wees. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

 

[In the era after 1994 this law regarding languages will be seen as a triumph for nation-building and a salute to our Constitution. Section 6 of the Constitution facilitated this legislation and the Constitution was very clear about what was expected of us as a committee.

 

The DA’s call to the nation during this process of negotiation was simple: We fought for the equality of all languages. The DA fought for all languages in South Africa, including the minority languages in Limpopo. I did not only fight for Afrikaans in the committee. Afrikaans is important to me, but so is the case with the minority languages in Limpopo. For the speakers who use them they are dear to their hearts. I also fought for them. I fought in order that this Act should not degenerate into something which could harm those peoples’ languages.

 

This Act is therefore a triumph for languages. The ANC practises its policy along the lines of racial and language barriers. The DA is conciliatory and look beyond language and cultural barriers. The DA seeks factors which bind us together and will keep us together in the future. The DA has the leaders capable of doing so.

 

It is about the application of the law. We all know that the Pan South African Language Board is a total disaster. The Minister dissolved the board of the Pan-South African Language Board and now the future lies ahead. All that I can hope for is that a group of bureaucrats won’t get together somewhere in an office and then just choose languages without taking into consideration the demographics of each province. We should take caution not to be too populist.

 

Last week in Groutville, the very seat of Chief Albert Luthuli’s soul, I met grandma Faith Nwango. It was at the Congregational Church, just next to the grave of Luthuli. She prayed for us. She worshipped with Albert Luthuli. I trust that this grandmother’s democratic ideals will be kept alive like the democratic ideals of all of us. This is the task each day of this House. We need to reach out to each other and learn each other’s history. I was thankful to be at the graveside of Chief Albert Luthuli and to learn which wonderful things this man did in the achievement of freedom in South Africa, like other leaders – people like Josiah Gumede and Dr John Dube. They were wonderful people with exquisite ideas that gave momentum to the process of democratisation.

 

Let us love one another. Speak your language, because everyone’s language is the most wonderful in the world. Everything we learned from our mother should be protected because it gives each one of us an identity. We should respect each other’s language and love one another.]

 

Mnu P NTSHIQELA: NdinguDlangamandla, Deputy Speaker namalungu onke ahloniphekileyo. Nokuba ngubani, nokuba uphi, ukuba umntu ufuna ukuphelisa isizwe uya kusengela phantsi ulwimi lweso sizwe. Iyinyaniso into yokuba isidima soninzi lwabantu bakowethu sagruzulwa ngolunya ngaphandle kwembeko ngurhulumente wengcinezelo, ngokwala ukuba abantu babenako ukusebenzisa iilwimi zabo zemveli. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)

 

[Mr P NTSHIQELA:, Deputy Speaker and all honourable members, I am from the Dlangamandla clan. Whoever you are, and wherever you are, if you want to destroy the nation you would disregard the language of that nation. It is true that the dignity of the majority of our people was torn down without any respect by the apartheid government, by not giving the people the right to use their indigenous languages.]

 

In 1994, for the first time in history ... abantu baseMzantsi Afrika bathabatha isigqibo sokugudlula nokuncothula neengcambu ubuqhophololo nobuqhinga benkohlakalo yorhulumente wengcinezelo. Oko bakwenza ngokuqinisekisa ukuba ukunyashwa kwamalungelo abantu abasisininzi ngokuthi bathintelwe ukuba bangabinako ukusebenzisa iilwimi zabo zemveli, kupheliswe nyaa elizweni lethu.

Kwanyanzeleka ukuba olu ninzi sithetha ngalo luvote. Lwavumelana ke ngoko ngamxhelo-mnye ukuba, amongst other things ukunyashwa kwamalungelo okusetyenziswa kweelwimi zabo zemveli kugudlulwe kwimithetho yamandulo. Kuye kwanyanzeleka ukuba lo rhulumente neSebe lezoBugcisa neNkcubeko enze ngohlobo abantu baseMzantsi Afrika abavumelene ngalo kuMgaqo-siseko weli lizwe ngeelwimi ezilishumi nanye. Okungekuko oko kuchasene nomthetho. Ndiyiqhwabela izandla iSABC ngokuphala phambili ekusebenziseni iilwimi phantse zonke zoMzantsi Afrika.

 

Makuqinisekiswe ngulo rhulumente neSebe lezoBugcisa neNkcubeko oku kulandelayo: (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)

 

[... the people of South Africa decided to do away with and uproot the corruption and cunning vindictiveness of the apartheid government. They did that by making sure that they redressed the violation of the majority’s right to use their indigenous languages.

 

The majority that we are talking about was forced to vote. They agreed in one voice that, amongst other things, the violation of the right to use their indigenous languages be removed from the laws of the previous government. Government and the Department of Arts and Culture were forced to do as the people of South Africa agreed on in the Constitution regarding the use of the 11 official languages of the country. Failure to do so is against the law. I applaud the SABC for effecting the use of almost all the official languages of South Africa.

 

This government and the Department of Arts and Culture must make sure of the following:]

 

The practicality and effectiveness of language use in the Department of Arts and Culture, three languages of choice by each province, use of sign language in full swing, the visibility, functionality and effectiveness of PanSALB ... [Laughter.]

 

Kaloku mna zange ndiye esikolweni sasebusuku. [I never went to Abet school.] ... and championing a convincing programme designed for the use of all languages, as stipulated in the country’s Constitution.

 

Mandinixelele kakuhle kule Palamente okokuba kumelwe iilwimi zesiNtu nabo balahlekelwa balahlekelwa ngamalungelo abo, babekwe phambili. Kodwa ke ngenxa yoko konke oku sithi siyiCongress of the People siyawuxhasa lo Mthetho osaYilwayo. Enkosi. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)

 

[Let me be straightforward with you and say that in this Parliament we support the use of indigenous languages and that those who do not know their rights are being prioritised. And because of that, the Congress of the People supports this Bill. Thank you.]

 

Mrs H S MSWELI: Deputy Speaker, this Bill has created controversy and stirred up emotions, and this was to be expected. Language has the power to unite or divide, and we cannot hope to achieve equality among our people if the language that people wish to express themselves in does not enjoy equal status in the eyes of our government.

 

Section 6(4) of the Constitution states explicitly: “All official languages must enjoy parity of esteem and must be treated equitably.” The Bill must adhere to this constitutional requirement and not end up discriminating against minority languages, relegating them to disuse. For instance, if a Siswati-speaking or Xitsonga-speaking person living in the Western Cape was to walk into any government department, they should not be forced to speak a language they do not fully understand. In fact, they should be free to speak any of the 11 official languages in any government structure, because not being able to do so would be stripping away not only the right to use their language, but also part of their identity.

 

The Minister has stated that his department wants to promote multiculturalism and this Bill presents a great opportunity for the department to show that government can cater for all 11 languages used in our country and not create the perception that other languages are more valuable than others.

 

Asiziqhenye ngezilimi zethu. [Let us be proud of our languages.]

The IFP supports this Bill. Thank you. [Applause.]

 

Mr S Z NTAPANE: Deputy Speaker, the Bill before us today seeks to consider the future survival of indigenous languages. Over the years, we have consistently called for steps to be taken to stem the looming extinction of indigenous languages.

 

Dealing with languages is a very sensitive issue because languages are not just means of communicating one’s thoughts and ideas but are also tools for forging friendships, cultural ties and economic relationships. Languages are the fundamental expression of our distinctive identities, cultural values and knowledge systems.

 

It was therefore heartwarming to observe us, the committee, working together as a team to tackle the challenges plaguing our indigenous languages. As my colleague, the hon Van den Berg of the DA, correctly indicated here before me, this was not a walk in the park. There was a clause on which we, the Portfolio Committee on Arts and Culture, did not see eye to eye during our deliberations. However, the committee chairperson, Ms Sunduza, worked very hard to ensure that we reached consensus. We commend you, madam, for your sterling leadership on this issue. [Applause.]

 

We would also like to take this opportunity to commend the Portfolio Committee on Arts and Culture for its hard work, commitment and maturity in ensuring that this Bill came to fruition without unwarranted delays. The UDM supports the Bill.

 

Nkul D W MAVUNDA: Xipikara na Yindlu ya n’wina yo xiximeka, ndza mi losa enhlikanhini lowu. Nhlangano wa vanhu wu susumeta leswaku Nawumbisi lowu wa ku tirhisiwa ka tindzimi hinkwato ta ximfumo ta Afrika-Dzonga wu pasisiwa leswaku wu va Nawu lowu nga ta tirhisiwa hi tindzawulo hinkwato ta mfumo wa tiko ra hina.

 

Ku tiyisisa Nawumbisi lowu, ku tumbuluxiwile bodo ya swa tindzimi laha tikweni hi ku landza xiyengentsongo xa (2) xa Nawu wa 59 wa 1995. Bodo ya swa Tindzimi ta Ximfumo ta Afrika-Dzonga i bodo ya nkoka swinene hi ku landza matimu na matshamele ya tiko ra hina ra Afrika-Dzonga.

 

Swirho swa bodo swi hlawuriwa hi vaakatiko kutani swi thoriwa ximfumo hi Holobye wa Vutshila na Mfuwo ku ringana malembe ya mpimo wo karhi. (Translation of Xitsonga paragraphs follows.)

 

[Mr D W MAVUNDA: Speaker and the honourable House, I greet you this afternoon. The Congress of the People proposes that the Bill on the use of all South African official languages be passed into an Act that will be used by all national government departments of our country.

 

In support of this Bill, a language board has been established in terms of subsection (2) of Act 59 of 1995. The Pan-South African Language Board, PanSALB, is a critical board according to the history and the context of our country, South Africa.

 

Members of the board are elected by the public and then officially appointed by the Minister of Arts and Culture for a certain number of years.]

 

This Bill, which we anticipate will be adopted by this House, seeks, among other things, to regulate and monitor the use of official languages by national departments for government purposes. Section 6(4) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996 persuades the national and provincial government by legislative and other measures to regulate and monitor the use of official languages. Section 6(2) of the same Constitution recognises the historically diminished use and status of the indigenous languages of our people. The state must therefore take practical and positive measures to elevate the status and advance the use of these languages, as the hon Minister has already mentioned.

 

Section 4(1) of the Use of Official Languages Bill says that every national department, national public entity and national public enterprise must adopt a language policy regarding its use of official languages for government purposes. Subsection 2 states that language policies adopted in terms of subsection 1 must comply with the provisions of section 6(3)(a) of the Constitution, which also states:

 

The national government and provincial governments may use any particular official languages for the purposes of government, taking into account usage, practicality, expense, regional circumstances and the balance of the needs and preferences of the population as a whole or in the province concerned.

 

Therefore, the language policy adopted must identify at least three official languages that the national department, national public entity or national public enterprise will use for government purposes. More than that: It must stipulate how official languages will be used, among other things, to effectively communicate with the public, in official notices and government publications, and describe how they will effectively communicate with members of the public whose language of choice is not an official language, as contemplated in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, or South African sign language.

 

I don’t want to dwell on what other members and the hon Minister of Arts and Culture have said. However, let me say that during our debate we reached consensus on PanSALB, as I indicated at the beginning of my speech. There was a concern. Section 3(a) of the Pan South African Language Board Amendment Act of 1999 states that the board shall create conditions for the development and for the promotion of the equal use and enjoyment of all the official languages - hence the prescribed powers and functions of the board in terms of section 8 of the very same Act. However, the Portfolio Committee on Arts and Culture learnt with dismay that the board was highly engaged in a legal battle among themselves instead of discharging the constitutional functions they were appointed for.

 

What we anticipate here and what we want to see is PanSALB concentrating mainly on its constitutional mandate. Members should be aware that they have a constitutional mandate, which they have to discharge.

 

This raises a red flag regarding PanSALB’s solvency, liquidity and sustainability. More than that - it was disgraceful for the portfolio committee to learn from PanSALB that a lack of sufficient funds to perform their core business function was ”their core obstacle” to achieve their constitutional mandate. However, the main obstacle was that the biggest chunk of their budget was directed to court cases and the legal battle among themselves, which I have already alluded to.

 

As the Portfolio Committee on Arts and Culture, after consideration of so many of the problems with PanSALB, we therefore reached unanimous consensus to persuade and support the hon Minister of Arts and Culture to exercise his powers in terms of section 5(a) of the Pan South African Language Board Act of 1995, which provided that the Minister concerned may dissolve the board on any reasonable grounds, relying on the findings of a report by the dissolved group as the basis for the possible decision to dissolve it.

 

Nkulukumba Xipikara na Yindlu ya n’wina leyo xiximeka, xiyengentsongo xa swa tindzimi xa ndzawulo ya le xikarhi xi kumile nkavelo wa R16 wa timiliyoni eka lembeximali ra 2012-2013. Ku na nkayivelo eka nkavelo lowu. Nkavelo wu tsandzekisa bodo ku fikelela swilaveko na migingiriko ya xiyengentsongo lexi. Hikokwalaho hi kombela leswaku ndzawulo yi tekela mhaka leyi enhlokweni.

 

Hikwalaho ka nkayivelo lowu va tsandzeka ku khoma nhlengeletano hambi yi ri yin’we elembeni. A va fanele ku hlangana ka mune eka lembeximali rin’we ku fikelela na ku humelerisa migingiriko ya vona. Leswi swa va tsandza hikokwalaho ka nkayivelo wa mali.

 

Ta namuntlha ndzi ti heta kwala. Inkomu. (Translation of Xitsonga paragraphs follows.)

 

[Hon Speaker and the honourable House, the language unit of the national government got an allocation of R16 million in the 2012-13 financial year. There is a shortage in this allocation. The allocation fails the board in the achievement of the objectives and activities of this unit. For this reason, we request that the Ministry takes cognisance of this.

 

Because of the shortage, they are unable to convene even a single meeting in a year. They were supposed to meet four times in one financial year in order to achieve and actualise their activities. They are unable to do this due to a shortage of funds.

 

I end here for today. I thank you.]

 

Dr C P MULDER: Hon Deputy Speaker, there is a famous saying that says, "Failure is an orphan, but success has many fathers." This afternoon we have many parents claiming this Bill to be their product, if I could put it that way.

 

Taal is ’n baie emosionele saak wat geweldige konflik, spanning en probleme kan veroorsaak. Ek het vanmiddag na die agb Moss geluister, wat vertel het van die wet; dat daar geen probleem met die wet was nie en hoe dit basies gehanteer is. Dit is nie korrek nie. Die wet soos aanvanklik ingedien in die Parlement was ’n bron van groot konflik en diegene wat die situasie dopgehou het, het geweet dit sou onafwendbaar in die Konstitusionele Hof eindig. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)

 

[Language is a very emotional issue that can create a lot of conflict, stress and problems. This afternoon I listened to the hon Moss, who spoke about the Act; that there were no problems concerning the Act and how the Act basically was dealt with. That is not correct. The Act as initially introduced in Parliament was a source of enormous conflict and those who observed the situation knew it would inevitably end up in the Constitutional Court.]

 

We made it very clear that we would not accept the original Bill as introduced in Parliament and that the matter would end up in the Constitutional Court because we strongly believed that it was unconstitutional. We felt very strongly about that.

 

Van die VF Plus se eerste dag af in hierdie raad in 1994 het ons nie net vir Afrikaans nie, maar vir multilingualism [veeltaligheid] geveg - vir verskillende tale, vir al die tale van Suid-Afrika. Dit was deurlopend ons standpunt en ek is baie dankbaar dat ons vandag ’n situasie het waar ons al die tale van Suid-Afrika in hierdie raad kan praat en waar dit vertaal word. Daarom is ons dankbaar vir die wysigings aan hierdie wet. Dit het gemaak dat die wetgewing ’n sukses is, in dié opsig dat alle partye dit nou eendragtig ondersteun en entoesiasties daaroor is. Maar .... (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)

 

[Since the FF Plus’s first day in this House in 1994 we have not only fought for Afrikaans, but also for multilingualism – for different languages, for all the languages of South Africa. This has continuously been our opinion and I am very grateful that today we have a situation in which we can speak all the South African languages in this House and in which they are being translated. That is why we are grateful for the amendments to this Act. They have contributed to the success of this legislation, in the sense that all parties now unanimously support it and are enthusiastic about it. But ...]

 

... the proof will be at the end, during implementation. There are wonderful provisions in the Bill at this stage. When it becomes a law of Parliament, it will be a good thing and we support that. However, we will have to see how it is implemented in the different state departments and provinces; whether this really gives expression to what is needed.

 

If we were serious about unity in our diversity, we would respect the languages of all our citizens. We should accommodate all our citizens in that respect.

 

Ons steun dit. In ’n laaste woord voor my tyd verby is, wil ek dankie sê aan die voorsitter van die portefeuljekomitee, die agb Sunduza. Sy is ’n interessante Parlementslid ... (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)

 

[We support it. Lastly, before my time expires, I want to thank the chairperson of the portfolio committee, the hon Sunduza. She is an interesting Member of Parliament ...]

 

... if I may put it that way. She is very strong in what she does.

 

Ek wil vir haar dankie sê vir die wyse waarop sy die leiding in die portefeuljekomitee geneem het en haar standpunt daar gestel het. Ek ondersteun dit. Ons steun die wet. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)

 

[I want to thank her for the way in which she took leadership in the portfolio committee and for her standpoint, which she started there. I support it. We support the Act.]

 

Mrs C DUDLEY: Deputy Speaker, the ACDP supports this Bill, which recognises the diminished use and status of indigenous languages and requires the state to take practical and positive measures to elevate that status and advance the use of indigenous languages. However, language experts are still very troubled about the lack of acknowledgement of the form our languages are taking. Dr Dowling of UCT points out that African languages change and adapt just as robustly as English and Afrikaans, and that saying “official” often just means “not understandable”.

 

Scholars of African languages embrace contemporary developments. They must have the funding to document them and then work to put their findings into schools. More needs to be done to ensure the training of language teachers, and language bursaries must be better marketed through schools and career counsellors. We must also not overlook researching the languages of millions of people who live in informal settlements and who grow up speaking a mixture of many languages. It is imperative that we find and fund researchers if we are serious about the speaking of our many languages. That about takes up my one minute. [Applause.]

 

Ms T B SUNDUZA: Deputy Speaker, wathint’ abafazi [you strike the women] - if you don’t believe this, you could have asked former Prime Minister J G Strijdom, who would have told you what women do when they are pushed to the limit. Ndiyanikhahlela bafazi. [I honour the women.] I would like to salute the women who marched on 9 August 1956 and every woman who is in this House. You are heroines of this nation.

 

One may ask why we are all speaking English when we are talking about our languages. We must start in this Parliament; we have interpreting services available for Members of Parliament. When we wanted to speak our languages, we were told that that service was not available and that we had to ask somebody who spoke our language to interpret for us. That was very disappointing for us, who are legislators.

 

I did not realise that language issues were so sensitive until we did this Bill. I must thank God because, really, being a young person chairing people over the age of 50 was tough! There were times when it was very tough. [Laughter.] I wanted to call the police at one stage. However, in the end, thanks to members, we were able to reach a conclusion. I also think it is now time for members of this House whose languages were advantaged in the past to speak our languages as well. It is time for them to learn these languages if we are to speak of a united South Africa.

 

I want to allay the fears of the hon Mulder and, in the end, to thank him. In the beginning, when we started with this Bill, as we said, there were always problems when the hon Mulder came to the committee meetings. Later on, he became my favourite person.

 

One of the issues that the Minister will deal with in terms of the Bill is to table a report to the National Assembly on the status and use of languages for national government purposes. The other is to establish two intergovernmental forums, the roles of which would be, among others, to co-ordinate, align and monitor the implementation of language policies, and to perform any other function that the Minister may determine.

 

I want to also allay the fears of the hon Van den Berg and hon Mavunda about PanSALB. We have already taken a stand on PanSALB’s issues. Measures have been put in place, so people must not fear. As much as there may be administration issues in PanSALB, they still have a constitutional mandate that they must fulfil.

 

One of the issues that I want to raise is that forms must be submitted every year, and there are timeframes within which to report on how far one has gone. It must also be remembered that the Bill provides for language units in the national departments.

 

I also want to clarify the issue of the establishment of an ombudsman, in terms of section 4 of the Bill. It is crucial to indicate that this will be the first ever language Act to be promulgated in the history of South Africa. It is, without doubt, a breakthrough for all official languages, in particular the indigenous languages of historically diminished use and status.

 

In the main, the Bill seeks to ensure that citizens of South Africa receive communication services in their first language - the language that they understand best. This is another way of improving service delivery for the people of South Africa, because one of the issues that hinders service delivery is language. If one cannot understand a language, then one will have a problem, especially when it comes to services of government and the filling in of forms in government services.

 

I would like to say that the ANC supports this Bill. In conclusion, I take this opportunity to request that provinces continue with their provincial Acts, and there must be no fear on the issue of monitoring.

 

To the hon Van den Berg, I would like to say that I think the DA learnt from the ANC how to reconcile. You must not take the credit. You learnt from the ANC, from legends like Madiba, what reconciliation is. Let us just correct that one.

 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the following people for their support throughout the process of developing the Bill, which, without doubt, has been a very long road: The hon members of the Portfolio Committee on Arts and Culture worked very hard. They sacrificed part of their festive-season holiday and arrived at Parliament earlier than anyone else in order to work on the Bill. Let me also thank the two DA members who have since been redeployed to other committees, Dr Annelie Lotriet and Ms Patty Duncan, for the work they did as former members of the committee.

 

Let me also thank the Department of Arts and Culture; the director-general, Sibusiso Xaba; the legal advisors; the media; members of PanSALB, who were consistent in coming to the meetings; the Language Services Section for the interpreting service; the Office of the Deputy Speaker, especially the Office on Institutions Supporting Democracy; the Parliamentary Monitoring Group; the committee secretary, Johnny van der Westhuizen; the committee researcher, Dr Hlengani Baloyi, my personal assistant, Vera Magadani; Adv Anthea Gordon; Dr Barbara Loots; Adv Zuraya Adhikarie; and the Language Services Unit. The ANC supports the Bill. [Applause.]

 

Debate concluded.

 

Bill read a second time.

 

CONSIDERATION OF RECOMMENDATION OF CANDIDATES FOR APPOINTMENT TO NATIONAL YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AGENCY BOARD

 

Mrs M T KUBAYI: Deputy Speaker and Members of Parliament, the Ad Hoc Joint Committee for the appointment of candidates to the National Youth Development Agency board, which was established by a resolution of both Houses, has concluded its work. Today the committee presents its resolution to the House for adoption.

 

Hon members, let me start with the process. The process started with the advertising of the posts and a request for members of the public to submit nominations for members to serve on the NYDA board. This was followed by the screening process of the 99 CVs that we had received. The committee deliberated on the names and resolved to shortlist 23 candidates out of the 99 for the interview process.

 

The shortlisted names were published in the newspapers before the interviews commenced, as required by the National Youth Development Agency Act. During this period, we received concerns from the Khoisan community and coloured individuals, who felt that they had been left out of the process. As co-chairpersons, we responded to the letters received and advised that the National Youth Development Agency Act be amended to specifically indicate in future how to deal with such matters. While acknowledging that the board would not be able to address all the demographics of our country, it is important that there is inclusivity when dealing with this type of appointment.

 

The interviewing of all the candidates was open to the public and media so that they could observe the process. We wanted to have a process that was transparent and accountable to all. Two candidates were left out of the initial interview process due to security screening concerns. The co-chairpersons undertook to engage these two candidates on the concerns by inviting them to the meeting and then conducting interviews thereafter. Only one of the two candidates took up the offer of discussions with the co-chairpersons and was therefore interviewed prior to the deliberations.

The House must note that the process according to which security clearance is undertaken is prescribed by the National Youth Development Agency Act. As the committee, we believed this to be part of the process. Hence we ensured that we engaged the candidates and did not penalise them in the course of the process, to ensure that they were also included in the process.

 

Hon members, while we were concluding the interviews, one of the candidates unfortunately withdrew and therefore left us with few candidates to consider in our deliberations. The process ended up with the committee deliberating on all the names and they were agreed upon unanimously by all committee members, without any of them being subjected to the process of voting.

 

The conclusion of the work of the committee resulted in the report that is before the House, recommending that the following candidates be appointed. In alphabetical order the names are: Ms Xoliswa Ayanda Bambiso; Ms Zandile Majozi; Mr Mothupi Phaladi Modiba; Mr Itiseng Kenny Morolong; Ms Maropene Lydia Ntuli; Mr Yershen Pillay; and Ms Nyalleng Potloane.

 

As I conclude I would like to thank all committee members who took up the responsibility and worked hard to ensure that we completed the task. At times we sat till very late in the evening to ensure that we concluded everything that we had been tasked with.

 

Again, as I table this report for adoption by the House on behalf of the committee, I thank all the young people who participated in the process. For us as committee members, it was quite inspiring to listen to these young people. We would like to wish well the candidates who have made it this far. We hope that once they are appointed, they will live up to expectations; serve the young people of the Republic with dedication, integrity, honesty, commitment and passion; and always remember that the young people who are in the rural areas, townships, informal settlements, hostels and urban areas have the hope that they will make youth development a reality in this country and contribute positively to their lives. We say to them: You dare not fail those young people! [Applause.]

 

There was no debate.

 

Question put: That the following candidates be recommended for appointment to the National Youth Development Agency Board: Xoliswa Ayanda Bambiso; Zandile Majozi; Mothupi Phaladi Modiba; Itiseng Kenny Morolong; Maropene Lydia Ntuli; Yershen Pillay; and Nyalleng Potloane.

 

Declarations of vote:

 

Mr J J MCGLUWA: Deputy Speaker, the ID, in full accord with the DA, cannot condone the nominated candidates of South Africa’s National Youth Development Agency Board because we do not support the existence of this institution. The NYDA has proven itself to be nothing more than a vehicle for national government to use public funds to reward ANCYL cadres for political loyalty. Last year, the NYDA’s chief executive officer earned R1,8 million and its current chief executive officer earns R1,2 million annually.

 

While our members tried hard to make their inputs felt in the committee, it is absolutely a tragedy that the House today, again, is sanctifying this political abuse of state resources when 3,2 million of our young people are unemployed and in need of our help. This multimillion rand budget should be put towards initiatives that will truly uplift South Africa, like the youth wage subsidy. [Applause.]

 

Mr B M BHANGA: Madam Deputy Speaker, as Cope we would like to declare in this House that we participated in the selection process of the members of the NYDA board in good faith. Our understanding is that the youth of our country is confronted by major challenges in relation to youth unemployment, poverty, and the rural youth being marginalised. It is our concern – and we think the President should consider this when making a decision – that the parliamentary security advisors misled the committee in relation to some candidates who were screened. It turned out at a later stage that the candidates qualified in terms of the Constitution. The President should therefore consider the possibility that this Parliament might be challenged at the end of the day.

Cope made it clear to the committee that the Constitution of the Republic of SA should always be respected. When people are screened for senior positions in government, something similar happens - people use their power as state institutions to abuse and discriminate against other individuals. Therefore, Cope distances itself from this process.

 

Question agreed to (Democratic Alliance, Congress of the People and Independent Democrats dissenting).

 

Xoliswa Ayanda Bambiso, Zandile Majozi, Mothupi Phaladi Modiba, Itiseng, Kenny Morolong, Maropene Lydia Ntuli, Yershen Pillay, and Nyalleng Potloane accordingly recommended for appointment.

 

CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON COMMUNICATIONS - OVERSIGHT VISIT TO LIMPOPO PROVINCE FROM 5 TO 8 FEBRUARY 2012

 

Mr G D SCHNEEMANN: Deputy Speaker, hon members, Ministers and Deputy Ministers present, the Portfolio Committee on Communications visited the province of Limpopo on an oversight visit study tour from 5 to 8 February 2012. During the visit, the committee visited post offices, community newspapers, radio stations, community radio stations, offices of Sentec, Icasa and the SABC, as well as telecentres.

 

I just need to say that during this visit it became evident to the portfolio committee that indeed the services being provided through the Department of Communications, the Government Communication and Information System and the various entities were in fact being provided and are making an impact in the province of Limpopo and on the communities in those areas.

 

However, I want to raise a couple of challenges, which are reflected in the report, as published in the ATCs. The first one relates to the Post Office. In the post offices that we have visited and the presentation that was received, it became evident that there are a high number of vacancies in various post offices.

 

Also, on its visits to Thusong service centres, the committee found that there were challenges, particularly from government departments, which were not always keen to have offices in these Thusong service centres and to make use of them.

 

There were also challenges around Internet services, telephone connectivity and, in some instances, the remuneration of employees who worked in these service centres.

 

With regard to the community radio stations that we visited, it was first evident that these community radio stations were making an impact and were playing a vital role in the communities in which they were broadcasting. There are, however, certain challenges that need to be addressed. One such challenge is the placing of advertisements by government departments with the community radio stations. There is a challenge around that: some get the advertisements; others do not. This is something that will need to be addressed.

 

It was also very clear to the committee that municipalities were making full use of these community radio stations to address communities on the work that was being done and also to interact with communities through talk shows and phone-in shows.

 

An area that is also of concern to the committee relates to the sustainability of these community radio stations. They receive funds from government, but without the funding many of them will not be able to sustain themselves in the long term. This is something that needs to be looked at.

 

The same applies to the community newspapers. The community newspapers that we have visited experienced similar problems, particularly in the placing of advertisements by government departments. Some of them get ads; others do not. This is an area that really needs to be looked at, in particular because these community radio stations and community newspapers are funded by government. They are able to start up through funds from government, and it is therefore necessary to help them survive through the placing of advertisements.

 

Advertising for radio stations and newspapers is generally a core income-generating base. If they get these adverts, plus adverts and support from the private sector as well, it will help many of them to reach a point of self-sustainability.

 

Sentech, which is responsible for maintaining signal distribution, has done quite a lot of work - a considerable amount of work - in Limpopo. They have rolled out and switched on 50 low-power transmitters, located in areas where previously there had been no signal distribution or the signal had been of a very poor quality. So, significant progress has been made in rolling out signal distribution in the province of Limpopo.

 

In terms of the SABC, the committee visited the local office of the SABC in Limpopo. The challenges there relate to the age of the equipment, particularly outside broadcasting vans. Some of them are 12 years old and older. They often break down and this all has a major impact on being able to provide effective services in the province.

 

The committee also interacted with the staff at the office of the SABC, where a number of concerns were raised. These included the implementation of commitments that were made to staff by management, the condition of the building in which they are working and the effect that the theft of Telkom cable has on outside broadcasting. I have raised just a few of the concerns; the rest are in the report.

To conclude, throughout the visit in Limpopo members of the various entities that report to the Department of Communications and the department themselves were present. We want to thank them for being part of that visit, but also to ask them to take the report that is being tabled to work on the recommendations that we have made and to help solve the problems so that we can ensure that we provide even better services in the province of Limpopo. [Applause.]

 

There was no debate.

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Hon House Chairperson, I move —

 

That the Report be adopted.

 

Motion agreed to.

 

Report accordingly adopted.

 

CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON ARTS AND CULTURE – OVERSIGHT VISIT TO PUBLIC ENTITIES IN FREE STATE AND NORTHERN CAPE PROVINCES FROM 5 TO 8 DECEMBER 2012

 

There was no debate.

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Chair, I move -

That the Report be adopted.

 

Motion agreed to.

 

Report accordingly adopted.

 

CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SETTLEMENTS - RENTAL HOUSING AMENDMENT BILL

 

Ms B N DAMBUZA: Mhlalingaphambili ohloniphekileyo, okokuqala mandiqala ngokubulela amalungu ekomiti ngokubanzi, ndibulele namalungu e-study group kunye noluntu oluthe lwathabatha inxaxheba xa besiqala ukwenza lo msebenzi ubaluleka kangaka, ndithi mandibabulele kakhulu ukuze lithi iphela ixesha lam ndibe sendibabelele ngokuzinikela kwabo ngamandla, bancama amaxesha abo eholide ngenxa yalo msebenzi. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows)

 

[Ms B N DAMBUZA: Hon Chairperson, let me start off by thanking members of the committee at large and members of the study group, as well as members of the public for their participation when we undertook this very important task of considering of the Bill. I feel I should thank them enormously, before I run out of time, for their commitment and sacrifice, giving up their holiday time in order to attend to this task.]

 

The Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements, having considered the Rental Housing Amendment Bill referred to it in November 2011, reports as follows: The Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements derives its legislative and oversight mandate from the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. In executing its mandates, the committee is directed by the Rules of Parliament and is further guided by the concept of an activist and responsive Parliament. Underlining this mandate is the responsibility of the portfolio committee to respond to the plight of citizens.

 

From the outset, the portfolio committee followed a thorough and exhaustive process in order to do justice to its constitutional mandate on processing the Rental Bill.

 

Manditsho ngokubanzi ukuba ... [Let me make it clear that ...

 

... the objective of the Bill is to make the establishment of Rental Housing Tribunals mandatory in every province.

 

The processing of the Rental Housing Amendment Bill resulted in several engagements between the committee, the national Department of Human Settlements, the Office of the Chief State Law Adviser, the parliamentary Legal Services Unit and the parliamentary Research Unit.

 

During its engagement with the department, and following public hearings, the committee observed that the department failed to consider and incorporate numerous important issues raised by the public. The portfolio committee resolved that most of the issues raised by the public had merit and required serious consideration. The committee anticipates that unless these critical issues are incorporated into a wider amendment of the principal Act of 1999, it will necessitate further amendments in the near future.

 

Mandiyithethe ngokubanzi into yokuba xa ikomiti ibithabatha inxaxheba kulo mba, iye yafumanisa ukuba kudingeka ukuba kubekho amasolotya ahambelanayo phaya kula Mthetho ungundoqo. Iye yacela ke imvume ngokomthetho nemigaqo yePalamente yokuba ifakele amanye amasolotya. Ikomiti iye yayifumana ke imvume leyo ibiyicelile.

 

Kodwa masitsho ke ukuba into esidanisileyo kukufumanisa ukuba emva kokuba sihambe umgama omde kakhulu, siye safumana ngomzuzu wokugqibela umyalezo ovela kwi-ofisi kaSomlomo wokuba uMphathiswa, umlawuli osemagunyeni, uye wawurhoxisa uMthetho osaYilwayo. Kulapho ke siye sabona ukuba asisakwazi ngoku ukuqhubeka siyile komiti. Kananjalo, sifuna ukuchaza ukuba ... (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)

 

[Let me indicate that, in its deliberations, the committee realised that it was necessary to bring about more amendments to the principal Act. It then sought and received, in terms of parliamentary Rules and regulations, a mandate to effect these amendments.

 

Let me also indicate that we were disappointed to get, at the eleventh hour, after all the work we had put into the process, a message from the Speaker’s office to the effect that the Minister, the accounting officer, had withdrawn the Bill. In that case we could not continue with the task as this committee. Furthermore, ...]

 

... the committee asserts that it consulted with and had several extensive engagements with the department, affording it several opportunities to raise its concerns with respect to the Bill’s implementation. The committee also highlighted its seven-month period of engagement with the department, from November 2011 until the end of May. This means 15 sessions were held to deliberate on the Bill. The committee therefore challenges the assertion that the department be afforded more time to fully examine the impact of the proposed amendments.

 

Eyona ngxubakaxaka, ngumba wokuba ikomiti ithi makubekho inkqubo yezicelo, kulo mba wokuxazululwa kweengxaki phakathi kwabaqeshi nabo baqeshisa ngezindlu zabo. Isebe oko belivumelana nathi. Sizokothuka xa sifumana ukuba isizathu sorhoxiso yile ndlela yesicelo abangayithandiyo bona kwisebe.

 

Thina ke sithi, siye sawenza umzekelo kuba sikwazile ukuba nalo eli solotya le-Sectional title, nokuba silifakele kwi-Ombudsman kuba kaloku sibonile ukuba i-Rental Tribunal ayikwazi ukuba yeyona eza kugqibezela.

 

Xa ndigqibezela, siyacele ukuba iPalamente. Enkosi [Laphel’ ixesha.] [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)

 

[The bone of contention was the proposal by the committee that a process of applications be introduced in resolving disputes between tenants and landlords. The department had agreed with us on this, and it came as a surprise to us that the reason the department withdrew the Bill was because it was unhappy with the process of applications.

 

We have managed, for instance, to effect the sectional title amendment and we have submitted this to the Ombudsman because we have realised that the Rental Tribunal cannot have a final say in this matter.

 

In conclusion, we request that Parliament ... Thank you.[Time expired.] [Applause.]]

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Hon House Chairperson, it is disquieting that Bills are introduced and arbitrarily withdrawn without any proper consultation with the chairpersons of committees. What happened in this case is not acceptable. We want that matter to be looked into. Otherwise, we are happy with this report.

There was no debate.

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Chairperson, I move –

 

That the Report be adopted.

 

Motion agreed to.

 

Report accordingly adopted.

 

CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON CORRECTIONAL SERVICES - OVERSIGHT VISIT TO CERES, VANRHYNSDORP AND BRANDVLEI ON COMPLETION OF NEW-GENERATION CORRECTIONAL CENTRES

 

CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON CORRECTIONAL SERVICES - OVERSIGHT VISIT TO BARBERTON CORRECTIONAL CENTRE IN MPUMALANGA ON 23 JANUARY 2012

 

There was no debate.

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Chairperson, I move-

 

That the Reports be adopted.

Motion agreed to.

 

Report on Oversight Visit to Ceres, Vanrhynsdorp and Brandvlei on Completion of New-Generation Correctional Centres accordingly adopted.

 

Report on Oversight visit to Barberton Correctional Centre in Mpumalanga on 23 January 2012 accordingly adopted.

 

CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON TOURISM -INTERNATIONAL STUDY TOUR TO MEXICO FROM 21 TO 28 JANUARY 2012

 

Mr D M GUMEDE: House Chairperson and hon members, the portfolio committee reports on its study tour to Mexico. Our objectives for the study tour were to look at the following: governance, with particular reference to the alignment and integration of tourism in this federal country; assessing levels of stakeholder participation, both in the private and public sector; the tourism sector contribution to growth and job creation; promotion of cultural and heritage tourism growth; and support for sustainable livelihoods and small businesses.

 

In their life journey, Mexicans have spellbinding stories to tell, as well as wonderful colonial and indigenous heritage sites that are well preserved. These include the sun and the moon pyramids, which were built by the indigenous people, and the huge cathedral that replaced a pyramid of the conquered indigenous people of Mexico City. They sing their unique folk songs beautifully, with harmonious melodies. From this visit, we drew a number of observations and fascinating experiences, all because these attractions are managed with a passion that is surely hard to find anywhere. Their approach is all-inclusive co-operation and partnership. This they do from the conception to the completion of every project. They start by consulting with communities, villages, municipalities, states and private operators, who are all led by central government despite it being a federal state.

 

The government also values research, information and innovation, and in this respect they work with 644 universities, who assist in their research and innovation efforts. Their approach is also people-driven, as it is knowledge-driven and stakeholder-owned. This seems to drive their passion in what they do for tourism. They have specialised and well-resourced multisector institutions for tourism development. Their expertise includes project management, technical management, commercialisation, finance and marketing, among others. These all account to the Department of Tourism at central government level.

 

In their campaign to promote the image of their country, they use the slogan “Mexico: the place you thought you knew”. This has worked to dispel images of a destination associated with drug lords and criminal gangs that they had as a country. We noted that in order to promote tourism, they started by defending bad publicity about their destination. They value relationships with the media as they believe that if they did not publish good news, that void would be occupied by negative news. They use all forms of media, including word of mouth from celebrities, social media and hidden cameras in taxis, among others. They also value respect for indigenous traditions, rural development, the capacitating of communities, environmental conservation, and synergies between all participants.

 

The report contains our recommendations, which include the need to work with some of their institutions to develop our resorts and for South Africa to have people who are more competent in leadership positions, particularly where they need skills. We propose that the report be considered. [Time expired.]

 

There was no debate.

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Chair, I move -

 

That the Report be adopted.

 

Motion agreed to.

 

Report accordingly adopted.

 

CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF JOINT COMMITTEE ON ETHICS AND MEMBERS’ INTERESTS - ANNUAL REPORT OF JOINT COMMITTEE ON ETHICS AND MEMBERS’ INTERESTS

Prof B TUROK: Chairperson, I hope I have the attention of the House because what I have to say affects every individual in this House. The Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests has the following functions: Firstly, to implement the code of conduct of this House; secondly, to develop standards of ethical conduct of this House; thirdly, to serve as an advisory and consultative body, generally, and to all members on the code; fourthly, to review the code; and lastly, to report to the House annually ... [Interjections.] I shall answer you in a moment.

 

On the first issue, the implementation of the code of conduct, a primary function relates to the disclosure of financial interests and material benefits received by members. I have the report of 2011 here, which is the register of members’ interests, and I hereby table it in the House for your perusal and interest. We also deal with the disclosure of conflicts of interest. Now, on the first function, the disclosure of financial interests, the registrar of the committee conducts this process and all Members of Parliament, I am pleased to say, have complied. This book contains all your replies and we are very pleased to note that there has been total disclosure.

 

Having said that, however, there have been breaches. These were reported to the committee by Members of Parliament and by the press. On the second issue, the disclosure of conflicts of interest, there have been complaints to us and the registrar has conducted investigations. The Public Protector has also asked us on several occasions for information and we have done our best to comply.

 

On the second question, standards of ethics, the committee has drawn up a revised code of ethics and a new section is included on ethical principles. We have drawn on the experiences internationally, especially of the House of Commons and other parliaments, to try and ensure that the ethical principles accepted internationally for parliamentary democracies are included in our particular code.

 

This report has been referred to political parties for consideration. I regret to say that progress in adoption is slow. We hereby appeal to all parties in the House to conclude this process. We do desperately need a revised code of ethics and code of conduct. There can be absolutely no complacency about ethical conduct in this House or in the conduct generally. I do hope that all the members who are having discussions, including the Deputy Ministers across the way, listen to what I have to say. It is very important. I repeat: There can be no complacency about ethical conduct in this House or in the country generally. We ask for the full support of this House. [Applause.]

 

On the advisory function of the committee, the committee had various consultations with members and other people. In fact, this happens all the time, and the registrar is fully occupied with advice to members, especially on this document - the declaration of members’ interests.

 

I would like to make one point in passing: When you make a declaration, material benefits are also included in the declaration. Members often think that financial interest is all you have to comply with. There are material benefits included in the code of conduct, which you are expected to comply with.

 

On the review of the code, it has been apparent for some time that the code of conduct before us requires amendment. The Presidency has also consulted our committee, and me, on revising the Ministerial Handbook, but that too requires updating. Because of that, the committee is planning a series of seminars with leading experts, lawyers, judges and others on the provisions for spouses and conflicts of interest. The question of spouses and conflicts of interest is very complicated. There are no simple formulae. We need to get advice from the best people we can get. This report is therefore presented to the House as required by the Rules.

 

To conclude, the purpose of the code of conduct is to help members conduct themselves appropriately as public representatives. Our task is to outline acceptable behaviour, establish minimum standards and ensure that members’ personal interests are open to public scrutiny. At times these duties upon us are very difficult, onerous and sensitive but we have a responsibility to uphold the standing and reputation of Parliament. We hope that we have fulfilled our task in a responsible manner. I thank you and I table this report. [Applause.]

 

There was no debate.

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Chair, I move -

 

That the Report be adopted.

 

Motion agreed to.

 

Report accordingly adopted.

 

CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON PRIVATE MEMBERS’ LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS AND SPECIAL PETITIONS – LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL TO AMEND THE LOTTERIES ACT

 

Mr S G THOBEJANE: Chairperson, hon members, the Committee on Private Members’ Legislative Proposals and Special Petitions considered the proposal received from hon Steenhuisen, a DA member. In his presentation of the proposal to the committee, the hon member made it clear that there were indeed some areas in the existing legislation that needed amendment.

 

However, we did consider that when the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry made its presentations, and it became clear that the Minister was in the process of introducing the amendment of the Act we are talking about as a whole. We were also glad that we were made aware that the Minister would be presenting the particular proposed amendment to Cabinet around September this year. So, we felt that if we continued with the matter, we would be pre-empting what the Minister would be presenting. Therefore, we advised hon Steenhuisen that he should wait for the introduction of the amendment and then propose his amendment to what the Minister would have tabled.

 

We therefore find no reason for us to pre-empt this matter by continuing with the proposal because it will be presented by the Minister. Therefore, we call for this particular proposal not to be recommended to proceed as it is. So, we table this report for your consideration.

 

There was no debate.

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Hon House Chairperson, I move —

That the Report be adopted.

 

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): The motion is that the report be adopted.

 

Declaration of vote:

 

Mr J H STEENHUISEN: Hon Chairperson, the Committee on Private Members’ Legislative Proposals and Special Petitions has rejected my proposed amendments to the Lotteries Act that would have made the Lotteries Act more transparent, equitable and accountable. My proposal was rejected on the basis of impending legislation, yet the Trade and Industry report of 2009 did identify the need to amend the Lotteries Act. It has been four years and we are still waiting. We are looking forward to seeing this Bill, to be introduced later this year in September.

 

The aim of these amendments was to better regulate the allocation of the National Lotteries Board payouts. The current legislation governing the miscellaneous section remains inadequate as it leaves space for conflicts of interest and inappropriate behaviour within the NLB. What sort of inappropriate behaviour did we want to put a stop to with these amendments? Behaviour like the R40 million paid to the NYDA; hosting an international kissing conference; and paying R1 million to Cosatu as a present for its 25th birthday bash in December 2010. This is money that should go to the NGOs and charities that deliver much-needed services to the poorest of the poor – services that the ANC-led government continuously fails to deliver.

 

The ANC continues to disregard good private members’ legislation, and this will have a negative impact on South African society. We must ask ourselves whether the ANC-led government is, in fact, committed to the improvement of our legislative framework to advance the ideals enshrined in our Constitution. The answer can be found in the annual report of the Auditor-General and in the introduction of the apartheid laws, like the Protection of State Information Bill.

 

A DA-led government would not allow the payment of millions of rands to go astray. Instead, we would funnel these millions of rands to programmes and initiatives that worked towards the upliftment of our people, the delivery of services and the creation of opportunities for all.

 

Motion agreed to (Democratic Alliance and Independent Democrats dissenting).

 

Report accordingly adopted.

 

CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON PRIVATE MEMBERS’ LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS AND SPECIAL PETITIONS – LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL TO PROHIBIT CONTRACTING BETWEEN AN ORGAN OF STATE IN THE NATIONAL SPHERE OF GOVERNMENT AND COMPANIES WHOSE DIRECTORS OR SHAREHOLDERS ARE PARTY-POLITICAL OFFICE-BEARERS OR PUBLIC REPRESENTATIVES OF POLITICAL PARTIES

 

Mr S G THOBEJANE: Chairperson, the Committee on Private Members’ Legislative Proposals and Special Petitions received a legislative proposal from hon Davidson on the prohibition of contracting between organs of state in the national sphere of governance and companies whose directors or shareholders are party-political office-bearers or public representatives of political parties.

 

The committee allowed hon Davidson to elaborate and explain why the proposal had to be considered. In the presentation we agreed that there was indeed a very fine line between the constitutional aspect and the proposal as it was.

 

We re-emphasised the criteria that should guide the committee when it did its work. If I may remind hon members, the criteria are the following six points: Does the legislative proposal go against the spirit and object of the Constitution? Does it seek to initiate legislation beyond the legislative competence of the National Assembly? Does it duplicate legislation awaiting consideration by the NA or the NCOP? Does it pre-empt similar legislation soon to be introduced by the national executive? Will it result in a money Bill? Will it result in frivolous legislation?

 

Working through this particular proposal, we had to invite the stakeholders because the matter of prohibiting contracting is not in the domain of only one portfolio. We invited the following stakeholders: the Presidency, the ethics committee, those who deal with the powers and privileges of members and Constitutional Development. Unfortunately, none of the above attended and we had to proceed without their input.

 

In our own determination, we were then advised by the Legal Services Unit that the proposed legislation would disadvantage the smaller parties of the NA, because in some parties you would find that their political office-bearers or their leaders were the only members available. As such, if we came up with this kind of law, we would be depriving them of doing business anywhere in the Republic, as long as it was state-related. We therefore came to the conclusion that, without tampering with the constitutional rights of individuals and Members of Parliament to do business, we need not recommend this particular proposal to go forward. We are therefore recommending that it should not be given the opportunity to go forward.

 

There was no debate.

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Chair, I move –

 

That the Report be adopted.

 

Declarations of vote:

 

Mr I O DAVIDSON: Chair, quite obviously, we reject the decision of the committee. This was an honest attempt by this side of the House to combat corruption, which has become endemic at all levels of government, not just at the senior level of government. What the legislation provided for was to prohibit party-political office bearers, public representatives and political parties from entering into business contracts with the state. That, we have seen, is the root of corruption throughout South Africa, at all levels of government. Incidentally, it is at all levels of government, not just at national government level.

 

The response of the committee was that they refused to allow Parliament even to deliberate on this issue. As the chairperson indicated, the committee is confined to looking at the proposed legislation through the prism of six principles. If we look at those principles, the proposed legislation infringes none of them whatsoever. Why are we then not allowed to debate it in this House?

 

What the committee did mention was potential infringement or implications as far as the Constitution was concerned. It was not unconstitutional! The legal department did not say it was unconstitutional. It had implications as far as the Constitution was concerned - but all legislation has implications as far as the Constitution is concerned!

No outside legal opinion was sought. In any event, I submit to you that what the proposed legislation did was imbued with the very spirit of Constitution, meaning that it did not go against the spirit, or purport or object of the Constitution, because what the Constitution tries to do is to promote clean and open government.

 

On the question of the infringement of the rights of smaller parties, that is a total red herring. This legislation is designed to look at the parties that are in government - and those are the major parties, like the ANC and DA. What was interesting was that the chairperson said they sought opinion from various committees and the Presidency, who did not even bother to respond.

 

There is a section in the Constitution - section 56 - which you can invoke to force people to come to your committee and give evidence, but you would not even do that! You sat on your hands. That, perhaps, sums up exactly what this committee does do: it sits on its hands. In that process it reveals exactly what this committee is: a total charade. [Applause.]

 

Mrs J D KILIAN: Hon House Chair, I would like to add the serious concern of Cope regarding the deliberations of the Committee on Private Members’ Legislative Proposals and Special Petitions. The reason is that we have to assess legislative proposals on set criteria and send them through to the relevant portfolio committee for the evaluation of the detail.

 

We basically consider principle and then we analyse it according to the set criteria. From there on, it is within the realm responsibility of the portfolio committees to go into the detail. Issues of constitutionality could certainly be evaluated once it reached portfolio committees.

 

The concern that Cope is placing on the table is this: Do we really have a commitment from the governing party to stamp out corruption? This when we had the tabling of the report of the Special Investigating Unit on 26 July, indicating that R5 billion is currently being scrutinised. This is based on corrupt deals between government officials, through politicians in high places.

 

The issue is: Is this government serious about the eradication of corruption? We are concerned that this is not the case. The issue here before us is that the constitutional right of every member of this House to table legislative proposals is systematically being eroded.

 

If we look at the history of legislation proposed by members since 2000, the statistic is actually shocking. All together, 73 legislative proposals were submitted. Of those, only 5 made it, and that was in the year 2008 – that was since 2000. Between 2000 and 2007, we had 32 legislative proposals, none of which succeeded beyond this committee, which is why we call this committee the ``guillotine committee’’.

 

It seems the ANC is absolutely set on frustrating members of the opposition who identify weaknesses in legislation, whose proposals could result in better government for the people, the improved provision of housing, money not disappearing into the pockets of housing officials, etc.

 

The question remains: What purpose did the guillotining - once again - of this legislative proposal serve? It certainly cannot be judged on the basis of its being unconstitutional, because that is the work of the portfolio committee.

 

Mr S N SWART: Chairperson, the ACDP would like to echo the previous speakers. Clearly, we in Parliament are very concerned about the level of corruption in our country, as has been indicated by the Special Investigating Unit and by all of us. This proposal would have gone a long way towards addressing the scourge of corruption in our society.

 

It is regrettable that Parliament wasn’t given the opportunity to debate on these proposals within the relevant portfolio committees. Today, in the Constitutional Court, this very issue is being argued by Dr Ambrosini, who wants to know whether it is constitutional or not to block private petitions in the way that this is happening. We trust that the Constitutional Court will give us clear guidance on this issue.

 

In conclusion, we need every weapon in the armoury to fight corruption. The ACDP believes this proposal would have gone a long way. Therefore, we cannot support this report. [Applause.]

 

Mr A M MPONTSHANE: Chairperson, as a member of the IFP, I just want to place on record that as we debate this matter of the right of members to table private members’ proposals, it is also being debated in court. Therefore, one is restrained by the sub judice principle not to go further than what is being debated in court over this matter.

 

Motion agreed to (Democratic Alliance, Congress of the People, African Christian Democratic Party and Independent Democrats dissenting).

 

Report accordingly adopted.

 

CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS - OVERSIGHT VISIT TO NORTHERN CAPE FROM 5 TO 9 SEPTEMBER 2011

 

Mrs M C MABUZA: Hon Chairperson and hon members, the Portfolio Committee on Public Works undertook an oversight visit to the Northern Cape from 5 to 9 September 2011. The purpose was to review the progress made by the province and the municipalities on their asset registers, as well as the implementation of phase II of the Expanded Public Works Programme, EPWP. Oversight included interaction with stakeholders from the construction sector.

 

All low-capacity municipalities appear to struggle with compiling a proper asset register. The municipalities struggle to comply with Generally Recognised Accounting Practice, Grap 17, and a number of them did not present their asset registers, mainly due to a lack of capacity or the required qualified personnel.

 

A number of low-capacity and poor municipalities did not have any EPWP project and were unable to access its incentive grant payments. The local elections led to a change in the political leadership at local level, which meant that there was no clear understanding of the requirements of phase II of the EPWP. Different reporting formats were required by the national and provincial departments of public works. What the National Treasury meant was that officials spent large amounts of time writing reports, which interfered with their core responsibilities.

 

The stakeholders from the construction industry raised issues that included difficulties in accessing finance and small contractors not being properly mentored under the Construction Industry Development Board. Contractors from other areas were appointed at the expense of those from local areas. The criterion used by the CIDB in evaluating contractors was mainly focused on turnover, while the quality of their work and experience was not considered.

During its oversight visit to the Northern Cape and the municipalities, the portfolio committee made recommendations that the province and municipalities should make the completion of asset registers a priority; a targeted approach should be used to address the challenges of completing the asset register, particularly the low-capacity municipalities; and that assistance should be provided by the provincial and national departments of public works.

 

The poor municipalities in the Northern Cape that are struggling to access the incentive grant payments should be assisted in implementing EPWP projects and the proper reporting requirements, so that they are able to do so. At local level, it was suggested that the mayors, members of mayoral committees and the councillors should be more involved in the monitoring of phase II of the EPWP.

 

With regard to stakeholders in construction, when tenders are awarded, registered contractors in the area must be considered first; local labour should be used, along with materials manufactured locally, where possible; proper mentoring of small contractors should be undertaken; and alternative criteria should be considered by the CIDB when evaluating contractors.

 

In conclusion, the committee was concerned about the slow progress made to complete the asset registers; the lack of implementation of the EPWP projects; and the municipalities not accessing the incentive grants due to a lack of consistent reporting on the progress made on the EPWP. On behalf of the committee, I table the report for consideration by Parliament. [Applause.]

There was no debate.

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Chair, I move -

 

That the Report be adopted.

 

Motion agreed to.

 

Report accordingly adopted.

 

FORMER PRESIDENT NELSON MANDELA: TAKE ACTION, INSPIRE CHANGE AND MAKE EVERY DAY MANDELA DAY

(Debate)

 

 

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Hon House Chairperson, it was A K Soga, the editor of the small-town newspaper Izwi Labantu, who said, and I quote:

 

Equal rights for all south of the Zambezi is the motto that will yet float at the masthead of this new ship of state which has been launched under the Union, and no other will be permanently substituted while there is one black or coloured man of any consequence or self-respect in the country or any white man who respects tradition of free government. So help us God.

 

Upon the Union of South Africa in 1910, Soga warned that until all South Africans of different races, identities and cultures were recognised as citizens and shared in the development of the country, and until all could vote, there would be no peace and no unity in the country.

 

At the time, it seemed that equal rights for all were an impossible dream. Even after the birth of the ANC, in 1912, it would take some 50 years to begin to break the stranglehold of legalised racism, segregation and separate development. Throughout the various struggles for freedom endured by the majority of the people of this country the overriding principles and values of the ANC and its founding fathers and mothers remained ever relevant. As articulated by Pixley ka Isaka Seme in October 1911, I quote:

 

The demon of racialism, the aberration of the Xhosa-Fingo feud, the animosity that exists between the Zulus and the Tongas, between the BaSothos and every other native must be buried and forgotten. It has shed among us sufficient blood. We are one people.

 

This focus on unity, peace and reconciliation and its attainment has consistently been at the forefront of our journey towards freedom, led by the ANC. It is not surprising that the leaders who emerged out of this glorious movement claimed the vacant space in this country during the dark days of apartheid and beyond - of unifiers, bringers of freedom, soldiers of reconciliation and preachers of forgiveness.

 

One such man, who embodied all of these, was our iconic leader, Nelson Mandela. His “uncommon humility”, as the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, called it, provided us with a leader whose story we all know so well; a true servant of the people, in word and in deed.

 

The “uncommon humility” we have all come to recognise in him is in the oft-repeated assertion that all that was accomplished was because of many countless others and not him. He believed it was the collective who should be given the credit and lauded, not him. However, he acceded to being the face of the democratic struggle when called upon to do so. As he knew, it was necessary to rally the troops, internally and externally, to strengthen the fight against apartheid.

 

In his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, he states that he never much cared for personal prizes. He said:

 

A man does not become a freedom fighter in the hope of winning awards, but when I was notified that I had won the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize ... I was deeply moved. The award was a tribute to all South Africans, and especially to those who had fought in the struggle; I would accept it on their behalf.

 

He was amazingly practical and forthright. Upon criticisms of his acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize together with apartheid’s last President, F W de Klerk, he countered the accusations by simply stating that, and I quote: “I never sought to undermine Mr De Klerk for the practical reason that the weaker he was, the weaker the negotiation process.” He further added, and I quote: “To make peace with an enemy, one must work with that enemy and that enemy becomes your partner.”

 

On the election campaign trail in 1994, he believed it was important to ensure that people understood the realities of what it would take to transform and develop the country and that it could not be done overnight. He challenged blacks to understand and have patience, and he was clear that he would not patronise them. He was adamant that the government could not do all for the people, but that they would have to join hands in their own development. He also reassured whites that they were South Africans too and that this was their land as well - although sometimes they don’t listen.

 

When he saw the election process being derailed, he knew it needed every bit of strength he could muster to get it back on track. He stated at a rally in March 1994, and I quote: “I will go down on my knees to beg those who want to drag our country into bloodshed.”

 

His belief in ubuntu was present in all his actions and deeds. In 2006, Madiba explained his view of the African spiritual ethic, ubuntu, in an interview with a South African journalist, and I quote:

 

A traveller through a country would stop at a village and he didn’t have to ask for food or water. Once he stops, the people give him food, entertain him. That is one aspect of ubuntu, but it will have various aspects. Ubuntu does not mean that people should not enrich themselves. The question therefore is: Are you going to do so in order to enable the community around you to be able to improve?

 

He was a great believer in the power of the human spirit and that of the community and while he supported self-enrichment, his view was that enrichment should be for the benefit of one’s community and fellow man. Ubuntu helped to shape Madiba during each of the significant stages in his spiritual development: his Xhosa childhood; during his formative years at various stages of his education and profession; his political development before and during his incarceration; and his embracing of his oppressors.

 

Madiba’s vision, shaped by his African heritage, his missionary education, the oppression of his people in the land of their birth and his incarceration on Robben Island, moulded the man and his singular vision. He articulated this in his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom, and I quote:

 

It was during those long and lonely years that my hunger for the freedom of my own people became a hunger for the freedom of all people, white and black. I knew as well as I knew anything that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed. A man who takes away another man’s freedom is a prisoner of hatred, locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else’s freedom, just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken away from me. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity.

 

Madiba often stated that he joined the struggle with no illusions. He knew what the ultimate price was and was willing to pay it. His integrity and honour were such that when in January 1985 he was offered his conditional freedom - the condition being that he unconditionally rejected violence as a political instrument - he rejected the offer with no hesitation. He then stated, and I quote:

 

I cherish my own freedom dearly, but I care even more for your freedom. Too many have died since I went to prison. Too many have suffered for the love of freedom. I owe it to their widows, to their orphans, to their mothers and to their fathers, who have grieved and wept for them ... But I cannot sell my birthright, nor am I prepared to sell the birthright of the people to be free. Only free men can negotiate. Prisoners cannot enter into contracts ... I cannot and will not give any undertaking at a time when I and you, the people, are not free. Your freedom and mine cannot be separated. I will return.

 

Once more, his calling on his belief in ubuntu demonstrates the axiom of “I am because we are”.

 

His vision of a country belonging to all who live in it surpassed the idea of national liberty, and people from across South Africa’s religious and racial divides gravitated towards his visionary leadership.

 

A further influence in his idea of racial harmony for the country was the Satyagraha, loosely translated as “insistence on truth”, the belief of Mahatma Gandhi, which freed India in 1947. Since Gandhi also lived and worked in South Africa for many years, from 1893 to 1914, his emancipatory vision greatly influenced Madiba.

 

Madiba also paid tribute to the Methodist Church and its role in his life. He credited the Methodist Church for their record of commitment to the development of Africa’s sons and daughters in more areas than one. The great institutions of learning, which spread from the Rev William Shaw’s chain of mission stations in this region, shaped the minds and characters of generations of our people, as well as many of our present leaders. Mandela believed that the religious community played a central role in the founding and evolution of the ANC, and particularly leaders such as Calata, Mahabane and Maphikela, as well as Abdullah Abdurrahman and Mahatma Gandhi.

 

In December 1999, Madiba declined going on a visit to the United States because he wanted to address the World Parliament of Religions. He acknowledged the contributions of the various religions in the country to the freedom that we enjoy today. It is therefore fitting that we should take this opportunity to give Madiba credit for the formation of the National Interfaith Council of SA, which brings together all religious people in this country. It is even more fitting that we should take this opportunity to credit Madiba for the adoption of the Bill of Responsibilities by the Department of Basic Education and also the campaign that Legal Education and Development, Lead SA, has embarked on together with the department to ensure that the morality of our people is restored from the school level to community level.

 

In conclusion, in this paper I brought to the fore the values that Madiba stood for. We must heed the words of Seaparankwe Andrew Motlokoa Mlangeni, who said on 18 July that we can become a great country only if we can emulate our Isithwalandwe Nelson Mandela. I hope that this is the way we will go to ensure that we entrench and deepen this democracy. I thank you, hon House Chairperson, for the opportunity to address this august House. [Applause.]

 

The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: Hon House Chairperson, hon members, President Nelson Mandela is a giant of our nation, both in standing and in character. By honouring him, we honour the deepest well of our national character. He led us through triumphs and tragedies, disasters and setbacks. In his public life, he also bore down on the platitudes of society. His knowledge of human tragedy, fortified by the sacrifice of years of imprisonment, shielded him from self-deception and hollow praise.

 

This is something we should all reflect on. If he were here today, I believe former President Mandela would be disappointed that we have not done more to solve the problems that he highlighted in his last speech to this Parliament in May 2004. He opened his address with a question:

 

What do I wish for our democracy in this second decade that we have entered?

 

We are only two years from completing this second decade of democracy. The challenges, Mr Mandela said, were unmistakably clear: poverty, preventable disease and ill health, and other forms of social deprivation.

It was significant that Mr Mandela placed these problems directly within the context of the work of this Parliament. Democracy, he insisted, “must bring its material fruits to all, particularly the poor, the marginalised and vulnerable”. He went on: “Our belief in the common good ultimately translates into a deep concern for those that suffer want and deprivation of any kind.”

 

On this occasion, Mr Mandela also said:

 

Let us never be unmindful of the terrible past from which we came — that memory not as a means to keep us shackled to the past in a negative manner, but rather as a joyous reminder of how far we have come and how much we have achieved.

 

Yet, too frequently, we open up the divisions of the past and seek to use them against each other.

 

In order to protect and promote Mr Mandela’s vision, Parliament must play a bigger role and work to a much higher standard. His legacy is greater and more profound than the political contestation between the parties represented here. Despite our partisan differences, we have an obligation to work towards common objectives.

 

It is easy for us to stand here and deliver honeyed words, yet “sincerity is subject to proof”. Why hold this debate here today if we do not heed President Mandela’s injunction and his call to service? There can be no better tribute to him than if we take our task of representation and public service seriously. President Mandela elegantly said of the work of this Parliament: “Yours is the almost sacred duty to ensure government by the people under the Constitution.”

 

Perhaps this is the time for each one of us to ask if we need to reacquaint ourselves with Mr Mandela’s vision. When we weigh the gravity of each sentence of his speech, it is hard not to conclude that we, in many respects, have regressed.

 

The theme of constitutional democracy was woven into every line of Mr Mandela’s 2004 address. It was based on the understanding that economic and social progress could not be made without being attuned to the content and spirit of democracy.

 

Last month, South Africans put aside 67 minutes to honour Mr Mandela’s example of public service. We, in this House, however, are held to a much higher standard. We are expected to work unceasingly, every day and every hour, to make manifest the promises contained in the Constitution and to build our democracy.

 

Our former President did not allow power to use him; rather, he used power. Power especially corrupts those who think they deserve it. Yet, while power tends to corrupt, Mr Mandela’s legacy demonstrates that public service cleanses.

Every day, he observed, the opportunity to exercise leadership presents itself. He used the power of his office to challenge the frontiers of the mind, and of institutions. He questioned the difference between people’s words and actions. Mr Mandela asked friends and strangers alike to face up to tough choices.

 

If we were fortunate enough to have President Mandela leading us today, I believe he would say that we cannot have reconciliation without education and jobs for the first generation of young people who have come of age since 1994. I have no doubt that getting the nation to work would be Mr Mandela’s first priority today, and that job creation would be the overarching template of his administration.

 

President Mandela would, if he were in office today, seek to change hearts and minds so that South Africans, especially young people, start to ask what they can do to help create more opportunities for more people. He believed education and innovation would bring lasting change. Let this, and not self-congratulation, be the touchstone by which we measure our endeavours in this Parliament. I reaffirm the DA’s commitment to upholding President Mandela’s legacy in word and deed.

 

On behalf of the DA, it is my great honour to wish him a happy 94th birthday, here in the Parliament that he did so much to help build.

 

Veels geluk, Tata, met u verjaarsdag. [Congratulations on your birthday, Tata.]

Mahlatse le mahlogonolo, Ntate Madiba. [We wish you all the best, Madiba.]

 

Mpilo nde, Tata. [May you have a long life, Tata.]

 

Unwele olude Kuwe, Tata. [May you have many more years to come, Tata.]

 

I thank you. [Applause.]

 

Mr L S NGONYAMA: Hon Chair, today we say, “Take action, inspire change and make every day Mandela Day.” Nelson Mandela continues to rally the people of our rainbow nation, as he termed us, like no one else. He has been the great reconciler and outstanding nation-builder for our country. During his inaugural address, he implored us to “act together as a united people, for national reconciliation, for nation-building, for the birth of a new world.”

 

The foundation he laid for national unity is one that we have to build on to achieve a common national identity. In his inaugural address, he also laid out the roadmap for the nation:

 

Our daily deeds as ordinary South Africans must produce an actual South African reality that will reinforce humanity’s belief in justice, strengthen its confidence in the nobility of the human soul and sustain all our hopes for glorious life for all. All this we owe both to ourselves and to the peoples of the world.

 

The task he envisioned for himself and for us requires continuous attention, belief and commitment. Therefore, the renewed call to take action, inspire change and make every day Mandela Day deserves our lifelong and wholehearted support.

 

However, what does this mean? In Cope, we believe that to make every day Mandela Day we have to commit to actions that celebrate all our cultures and are moral, selfless and decent so that we inhabit the moral plane that Nelson Mandela occupied. The outcome of making each day Mandela Day has to be fully regenerative for our society.

 

Our own history of struggle shows that when good people commit themselves to a worthy cause, the impossible is made possible. We can also learn valuable lessons from the histories of other people. In this regard, I wish to refer to the rule of Chinese Emperor Ch’eng T’ang, founder of the Shang Dynasty in the 18th century BC. On his bathtub were inscribed the words, “Day by day, make it new.” For Mandela Day to be a meaningful initiative, we too have to adopt the adage, “Day by day, make it new”.

 

The shine of the Mandela presidency is endangered now. As a country, we are regressing in many ways from those halcyon days. The need to protect all the gains of our constitutional democracy and the human rights that go with them must therefore be made into a high priority for all of us.

 

From ancient texts we learn that a Tang dynasty arose in ancient China and was characterised by such astute statecraft that it stands out in the annals of history. The civil service examination of the Tang dynasty, 3 800 years ago, was so refined that its basic form was used up to the 20th century. In later years, however, Hsüan-tsung succeeded to the throne. Unfortunately, he was so besotted with a woman that he neglected his duties. In a short while, the woman’s friends and family members were appointed to government. Government then became a family thing. One of the woman’s brothers quarrelled with the general, An Lu-shan, and this led to a war and the rapid collapse of the state.

 

Leaders of government must serve as role models so that the legacy of Nelson Mandela, which is now under threat, lives on in the lives of every one of us. Let us, day by day, keep the gloss on those values so cherished by Nelson Mandela. Thus, through our actions, we too will inspire change among ourselves, our fellow citizens and everyone else in the world.

 

Siyakhahlela Madiba, Ngqolomsila, Vela babenjalo. Enkosi. [We salute you Madiba, Ngqolomsila, Vela bebenjalo.] Thank you. [Applause.]

 

Mr J J SKOSANA: Chairperson, hon members, on 18 July, universally referred to as Mandela Day, the citizens of South Africa of all races, from different cultures and backgrounds, men and women, young and old, came out in great numbers to perform good deeds within communities. They did so to mark this occasion and celebrate the magnanimous leadership that Mr Mandela provided with his contemporaries, including Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki and the hon Andrew Mlangeni, to mention a few. They also did so to honour the sacrifices he made and the suffering he endured, with his contemporaries, during the liberation struggle of the black people from the yoke of repressive apartheid rule in South Africa.

 

There may well be those of our citizens and political leaders who remembered this day with prayers, meditation, simple well-wishes and even fond memories. Here I have in mind Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, who once courageously and selflessly campaigned for the release of Mr Nelson Mandela and his colleagues from prison. I also include the leadership of the PAC - then it was Mr Zephania Mothopeng - at a time when it was treason just to utter the name of Mandela.

 

We would have rejoiced further if ours was a case of a reconciled people, individually and collectively building an equal, peaceful and morally just society and state. The courageous volunteerism on the part of South Africans will no doubt have given rise to other perspectives. For instance, there must have been those in our society who pondered that we have made an error of political judgement in allowing Mr Mandela to serve only one five-year term as the first President of a liberated South Africa, primarily because he introduced the unique but fundamental idea of reconciliation and nation-building. To this day, this remains a categorical imperative for the peaceful coexistence of the different races and peoples of South Africa. Unfortunately, the successive Presidents did not find this idea a priority to be pursued with the necessary vigour it required.

 

There must also have been those who argued that the demons of colonialism and apartheid were so deeply entrenched in the South African psyche that even more than one term of a Mandela administration would not have made absolute the exorcism of this legacy of demons.

 

At present, the South African society is faced with menacing social, political and economic challenges threatening to derail peace and stability. Of note is the formidable resurgence of racial animosities and discrimination hiding behind the cloak of some form of expression or another. [Time expired.]

 

Mr M H HOOSEN: Hon Chairperson, Madiba’s life and the values he fought for have inspired not only South Africans but, in fact, the entire world. We can see this every year in the actions that people take to celebrate his selfless devotion to bettering the lives of those living in poverty.

Unfortunately, the only people who do not seem to be inspired by his legacy are this present government. The stark failings in our education system and the inability of this government to ensure that all young people have opportunities to take up jobs in this economy are a sad betrayal of everything that Madiba fought for.

 

As we stand here today, on the verge of destroying the dreams and the legacy of our former President Nelson Mandela, I am reminded of the words of journalist Amanda Ngudle when she wrote: “Perhaps this is what diminished the Mandela legacy: He planted the seeds, but his successors didn’t water the trees.”

 

Mr N M KGANYAGO: Chairperson, what can I say in one minute about this great man? The eighteenth of July is a very special day on our national calendar. It is the day when the first democratically elected President of the Republic of South Africa, our struggle icon, Tata Nelson Mandela, celebrates his birthday.

 

In this parliamentary debate on Dr Mandela, I take this opportunity to belatedly wish Madiba a happy 94th birthday. Possibly one of the greatest moral and political leaders of our time, Madiba championed reconciliation among South Africa’s deeply divided races with considerable ease. He premised our young rainbow nation on the principles of respect, selfless service to others and ubuntu.

 

Madiba was generous in spirit and he tried to give back as much as possible. To honour him, we should lead our people with integrity and work together to change South Africa for the better. Dr John Maxwell explains the principle of integrity, adherence to which would make every day Mandela Day, as follows: “Integrity commits itself to character; our personal gain ...” [Time expired.]

 

Ms T B SUNDUZA: House Chairperson, long live Madiba! Long live! It is an honour for me today – I thank God – to speak about a great freedom fighter, a volunteer-in-chief, a commander-in-chief, a political strategist and a revolutionary. It is an honour for me to speak about Madiba, a man that I knew through a song sung by Miriam Makheba, entitled Nongqongqo (To Those We Love), a banned song that my father played for me. I want to say today that Madiba was known as a terrorist until 1990. That was when people realised that Madiba was a person. He was a terrorist to those who today praise him like he is their own.

 

I want to say that it is time for this Parliament to honour Madiba. I believe it is time for us to have a statue of Madiba outside Parliament, at the entrance there, because he is the man who brought this freedom that we speak about in the democratic Parliament. There is still space for Gen Louis Botha, perhaps next to Queen Victoria on the side, but it is time for Madiba to represent the real Parliament. I pray for these processes that are happening through the Minister of Arts and Culture to start so that when Heritage Day comes ...

 

... uMadiba sakube singena emnyango sijonge yena, hayi lo singamaziyo [... we can see Madiba when we enter through the door, not this one, whom we do not even know.]

 

I am reminding this House, because we should not lose sight of the fact that this country has a history - a very painful history - and deep scars that still show. Today, there are those who wish to appropriate the name of Mandela and claim that they are the true proponents of his legacy. This has more to do with political parties struggling to have an identity or whose philosophy is the replica of the deep-seated conservatism, which claims history and even relates the importance of their party to something that rewrites and distorts their history.

 

I want to quote Mandela as a strategist and as a negotiator when he, responding to P W Botha’s killing of the children of Soweto in 1985 by sending his daughter Zinzi to the rally in Orlando Stadium – that was my first experience of a rally then – said:

 

What freedom am I being offered while the organisation of the people remains banned?

 

Only free men can negotiate. Prisoners cannot enter into contracts.

 

Out of that pain, we must build a new society that Mandela had a vision of long before he was incarcerated on Robben Island as the leader of the ANC and the oppressed masses. [Interjections.] I wish you would listen because I am giving you a political education here. Madiba directed us to move in that direction in his inauguration address in 1994, when he declared that —

 

out of the experience of an extraordinary human disaster that lasted too long must be born a society of which all humanity will be proud.

 

We are speaking of a President who, at the time, brought the issues of women, the youth and children under the Presidency, to nurture and support them. Mandela was a freedom fighter. The role that Madiba played in the Defiance Campaign was depicted in how he carried himself as the chief volunteer. He was a founding member of the ANC Youth League in 1944, something that brought change and led to the Defiance Campaign. The strategy was to be repeated for decades to follow in the liberation struggle.

 

Madiba was also instrumental in the preparations for the drafting and adoption of the Freedom Charter by the Congress of the People - the real one - in 1955. This resulted in him being requested to author the M-Plan by the ANC leadership, a strategy document on how the ANC could operate underground, given the repression. Dubbed the M-Plan, Madiba’s strategy proposed the reorganisation of ANC branches into small cells to enable the leadership to maintain dynamic contact with the membership without calling meetings.

 

Madiba moved up to the north and joined the military wing of the ANC, uMkhonto weSizwe. The rules were clearly defined: sabotage strategic outposts to scare away foreign capital and weaken the economy so as to force the government into talks. Madiba was the first commander-in-chief of uMkhonto weSizwe. He left the country illegally and visited Ethiopia and Algeria. He received his military training in Algeria.

 

When it was launched, MK issued its historic manifesto with these timeless words:

 

The time comes in the life of any nation when there remain only two choices: submit or fight. That time has come to South Africa. We shall not submit and we have no choice but to hit back by all means within our power in defence of our people, our future and our freedom.

 

The first meeting between President Mandela and the National Party government took place in 1985, when he met the then Minister of Justice, Kobie Coetsee, in the Volks Hospital while Madiba was recovering from surgery. Over the next four years, a series of tentative meetings took place, laying the ground for further contact and further negotiations. It was Madiba who demanded the release of four political prisoners from Robben Island: Mr Matthew Meyiwa, Mr Elphas Mdlalose, Mr Anthony Xaba, and Mr John Nene. They had been left behind when Comrades Walter Sisulu, Raymond Mhlaba and the others were released.

 

After a lot of behind-the-scenes manoeuvring, on 2 February 1990, President De Klerk announced Madiba’s release in Parliament. It was a massive victory for the ANC and its allies. The release of Mandela in 1990, the freeing of other prisoners, and the unbanning of the organisation was not a miracle, as is commonly believed, but the product of strategies and revolution. It was a day of joy in South Africa. The black messiah was out to save his own people.

 

As the first President of the democratically elected government, President Mandela was an exceptional President for both the ANC and the government. He carried the values and policies of the ANC to his task in government, promoting national reconciliation, forgiveness and national unity. He was truly the President South Africa needed during that fragile transition period. We are also grateful to Madiba for laying a firm foundation for the transformation of our country during the first 10 years of democracy, five of which were under his leadership. A total of 789 laws or amendments aimed at reconfiguring South African society by removing apartheid laws were approved by this Parliament.

 

In conclusion, I want to say happy birthday, Tata uMadiba, on your 94th year, and we pray that God may keep you for many more years. On this day, we are called upon to display the same selfless characteristics of dedication, commitment and loyalty to Madiba that he has shown to the nation. Madiba was made by the ANC; he will always remain a member of the ANC, and let us make the 67 minutes not only a July month issue but a daily issue.

 

Rev K R J MESHOE: House Chairperson, from the beginning the ACDP has been one of the parties that called on everybody for every day to be Mandela Day; where helping others would become a way of life, because we all agree that Mandela’s exemplary leadership of caring for others should spur us all on to do more. We should also move away from greed, selfishness, nepotism, corruption and the temptation to care only for our own communities while neglecting others.

 

It is in light of the above that I find plans to spend more than R1 billion of taxpayers’ money on building a new town in Nkandla to be reckless and insensitive to the suffering of our people. Millions of South Africans still do not have access to basic services, such as water, proper sanitation and electricity, and thousands of schoolchildren still do not have textbooks and school buildings.

Former President Mandela cared for all the people of this country and not just for those from Qunu or the Eastern Cape. Therefore, the ACDP calls on this government - which is planning to do something that, I believe, Mr Mandela would not want us to do - to stop the plan that they are trying to implement and rather use that money to build more much-needed schools and houses for the homeless and to give all our people access to clean water, proper sanitation and electricity.

 

Mrs I C DITSHETELO: House Chairperson, this is one the few debates that I absolutely enjoy taking part in, and I enjoy listening to many of my colleagues’ inputs. This is because, even if for just one day, this is a day when we all try to make a concerted effort to be nice and positive. There is little or no bickering at all on this day, as we all acknowledge the magnificent, larger-than-life Dr Nelson Mandela.

 

Today I particularly like the chosen theme of taking action, inspiring change and making every day Mandela Day. This choice of words on its own befits his legacy. He indeed continues to inspire the world to change the status quo on suffering. True to the theme, I would like to challenge myself and the House by quoting Maria Robinson:

 

Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.

I say we need to start today, making each and every day Mandela Day for ourselves, for our children and for our generations to come. I believe that South Africans are most privileged to be able to claim Madiba, a world-renowned, outstanding leader, a pioneer for peace and forgiveness, a principled statesman, as one of our own. The many ideas of maintaining his legacy, that is to say the 67 minutes on Mandela Day, the 46664 concerts, etc, are all wonderful ideas that not only preserve his legacy but propel us to be better human beings, to be co-caring citizens and to lead our lives with conscience. The many initiatives that have sprung up across the country, where ordinary individuals have taken the time, effort and resources to contribute to change, signify how far we have been inspired by this noble man into being better citizens and better individuals. We are a nation that continues to grow and to move forward. Even when we stumble, we are still moving forward. [Applause.]

 

Mna L M MPHAHLELE: Mohl Modulasetulo, mokgatlo wa PAC o re go Mna Mandela: O gole o kake tlou, tšhukudu go wena e be mošimanyana. Re leboga ge o tšama o re ruta ditaola leetong la go ya bagologolong; o re ruta gore letšatšing le lengwe le le lengwe re šomele setšhaba ka potego le boikgafo, ka lerato le mafolofolo le ka boikokobetšo le hlompho. (Translation of Sepedi paragraph follows.)

 

[Mr L M MPHAHLELE: Hon Chairperson, the members of PAC would like to say to Mr Mandela: May you live for many more years to come. We appreciate what we are learning from you; you are teaching us to always serve the nation with honesty, dedication, love, humility and respect.]

 

Heroes like Madiba are not meant just to be honoured. More importantly, heroes and heroines should be emulated because even scoundrels can honour their great heroes. Yet only the upright citizens emulate our heroes. Let our heroes be the nation’s moral compass.

 

Ukhule kodwa ungakhokhobi Ngqolomsila, Zondwa ziintshaba zingenakwenza nto, Vela bembhentsele. Enkosi. [May you have many more happy returns, Ngqolomsila, Zondwa ziintshaba zingenakwenza nto, Vela bembhentsele. Thank you.]

 

The MINISTER OF ARTS AND CULTURE: Hon House Chair, Ministers, Deputy Ministers, hon members, it is my most singular honour to participate in the debate to celebrate the father of our nation, the world-renowned statesman, Isithwalandwe, Seapara nkwe [the one who wears the plumes of the rare bird], former President of South Africa, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.

 

This debate takes place two days after we marked the arrest of President Mandela in 1962 by the then apartheid government. The arrest of President Mandela was seen as a victory by those who were opposed to the ideals of a free and democratic South Africa, which President Mandela stood for. They were of the view that the arrest of President Mandela would mark the end of our struggle against apartheid and the fight for a free and democratic South Africa.

 

Little did they know that all South Africans, and indeed the whole world, would embrace our struggle for national liberation – a struggle that President Mandela continues to symbolise to this day. To us, this is an indication that the struggle that President Mandela and his generation of freedom fighters symbolise was a just and noble one. It is therefore humbling that today those who at the time viewed President Mandela as a terrorist have now embraced what he and his generation of leaders have long called for.

 

As we honour President Mandela today, we equally honour many South African heroes and heroines, sung and unsung, and the many people of the world who stood by us in the struggle for a just, prosperous and democratic society, led by the ANC. This important debate also takes place in a month in which we celebrate the heroism and the many sacrifices of the women of our country.

 

As a nation, we have taken a conscious decision to celebrate the women of our country because of the historic nature of their oppression. This we have characterised as triple oppression, based on gender, class and race. Today, the women of our country continue to be burdened mostly by social and economic injustice and inequalities. We must therefore use this period to strengthen our resolve to advance gender equity and women empowerment. Malibongwe! [Let it be praised!] [Interjections.]

 

This we must do, fully aware that, as a nation, our struggle will not be complete, our mission not accomplished and our goal not reached until we have secured the total emancipation of the women of our country. As we honour President Mandela, we must draw lessons from how this icon of our struggle for national liberation viewed the role of women in the reconstruction and development of the country.

 

Speaking on the occasion of Women’s Day celebrations on 9 August 1996, President Mandela said:

 

The legacy of oppression weighs heavily on women. As long as women are bound by poverty and as long as they are looked down upon, human rights will lack substance.

 

President Mandela went on to say:

 

As long as outmoded ways of thinking prevent women from making a meaningful contribution to society, progress will be slow. As long as the nation refuses to acknowledge the equal role of more than half of itself, it is doomed to failure.

 

Informed by the commitment made by President Mandela, today, as the ANC, we have ensured that women are part, not only of government structures but of decision-making structures in government. We can be proud that the representation of women, even in this Parliament, increased from 27,8% in 1994 to 43,3% currently.

 

In provincial legislatures, it has increased from 25,4% to 42,4% over the same period. However, we are the first to admit that this is not enough. Working together with the rest of society, we must increase our efforts to ensure women’s emancipation in decision-making structures in government and the broader society.

 

We therefore take this opportunity to also call upon the private sector to equally make a contribution to this important task of promoting gender equity and women empowerment. Together, we must not fail in this strategic task of ensuring that, as directed by President Nelson Mandela, more than half of us as a nation play an equal role in the growth and development of our society.

 

Last month, the people of South Africa, and indeed the people of the world, took part in activities to mark International Nelson Mandela Day. We take this opportunity to thank all South Africans who responded to the call to set aside time to be of service to fellow South Africans, especially those in need. Part of the activities undertaken to honour the legacy of former President Mandela this year were the cleaning and painting of schools, donating of books, and the handing over of houses in Zeerust in the North West. Going forward, we wish to urge South Africans not only to make every day Mandela Day but also to ensure that initiatives undertaken in honour of this icon of our people are meaningful and sustainable.

 

This debate also takes place after we convened a successful National Summit on Social Cohesion. Like the generation of President Mandela who convened a gathering in Kliptown in 1955 and adopted the Freedom Charter, the more than 1 000 delegates who attended the Social Cohesion Summit reaffirmed, once more, that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, united in their diversity. The summit also resolved that in order to realise the goal of a truly national democratic society, we must accelerate the pace of transformation in our society. This we must do in order to ensure that Africans in particular, and black people in general, become part of the mainstream of the economy.

 

In this regard, we are called upon to address the challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequalities by, among other things, expanding access to employment and other economic opportunities for all the people of South Africa, especially the young people. As the ANC government we must do this in order to give meaning to the words of President Mandela, who said:

 

The purpose that will drive this government shall be the expansion of the frontiers of human fulfilment, the continuous extension of the frontiers of freedom.

 

We must therefore renew our resolve to expand the frontiers of human fulfilment and the frontiers of freedom, so that we can realise the goal of creating a socially inclusive and prosperous society. Delegates to the National Summit on Social Cohesion agreed on a programme of action that would be implemented jointly by government, civil society, labour, business and all other stakeholders. This programme of action is aimed at assisting us as South Africans to make new and decisive advances towards the noble goal of one nation, one country, one people and a shared destiny that belongs to all.

 

Delegates to that historic summit also resolved to work together to build a society where there is respect, equality and human dignity for all. They resolved to promote freedom, the rule of law and democracy, to improve the material wellbeing of all citizens and to ensure economic justice. They further committed themselves to enhance sound family and community values; uphold honesty, integrity and loyalty; ensure harmony in culture, belief and conscience; show respect and concern for all people; strive for justice, fairness and peaceful coexistence; and also to protect the environment.

 

All of these commitments are reflective of the values that former President Nelson Mandela and his generation of leaders stood for and dedicated all their lives to. Indeed, these are the values that continue to guide the ANC, the organisation that President Mandela has made his home up to this day. This is the organisation that shaped who he is and the organisation to which he owes much of his personal growth and development as a freedom fighter. As part of preserving President Nelson Mandela’s proud heritage, we are working with the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory to digitally archive Madiba’s life and times.

 

In conclusion, we believe this project will lead to greater access to the story of this great icon of our people. On this important day, I therefore want to end by saying, long live Madiba, long live!

 

HON MEMBERS: Long live!

 

The MINISTER OF ARTS AND CULTURE: Long live Nelson Mandela, long live!

 

HON MEMBERS: Long live!

 

The MINISTER OF ARTS AND CULTURE: Let us continue to make every day Nelson Mandela Day. Happy birthday, Tata Madiba! Aah! Dalibhunga! [We salute you, Dalibhunga!] [Applause.]

 

Debate concluded.

 

The House adjourned at 18:22.

__________

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS

 

FRIDAY, 15 JUNE 2012

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

 

The Speaker and the Chairperson

 

1.         Classification of Bills by Joint Tagging Mechanism (JTM)

 

(1) The JTM in terms of Joint Rule 160(6) classified the following Bills as section 75 Bills:

 

(a) Co-operatives Amendment Bill [B 17 – 2012] (National Assembly – sec 75).

 

(b) Co-operatives Second Amendment Bill [B 18 – 2012] (National Assembly – sec 75).

 

(c) Road Accident Fund (Transitional Provisions) Bill [B 22 – 2012] (National Assembly – sec 75).

 

(2) The JTM in terms of Joint Rule 160(6) classified the following Bill as a section 76 Bill:

 

(a) Legal Practice Bill [B 20 – 2012] (National Assembly – sec 76).

 

National Assembly

 

The Speaker

 

1. Withdrawal of Bill

 

(1) The Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs withdrew the following Bill:

 

(a)        South African Weather Services Bill [B 22 ‑ 2011].

 

COMMITTEE REPORTS

 

National Assembly

 

CREDA INSERT - T120615e – insert1 – PAGES 2156-2169

 

MONDAY, 18 JUNE 2012

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

The Speaker and the Chairperson

 

1.         Draft Bill submitted in terms of Joint Rule 159

 

(1) Private Security Industry Regulation Amendment Bill, 2012, submitted by the Minister of Police.

 

Referred to the Portfolio Committee on Police and the Select Committee on Security and Constitutional Development.

 

National Assembly

 

The Speaker

 

1.         Re-introduction of Bill

 

(1)        The Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform

 

(a)        Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Bill [B 14 – 2012 (Re-introduced)] (National Assembly – proposed sec 76) [Explanatory summary of Bill and prior notice of its introduction published in Government Gazette No 35445 of 15 June 2012.]

 

Introduction and referral to the Portfolio Committee on Rural Development and Land Reform of the National Assembly, as well as referral to the Joint Tagging Mechanism (JTM) for classification in terms of Joint Rule 160.

 

            In terms of Joint Rule 154 written views on the classification of the Bill may be submitted to the JTM within three parliamentary working days.

 

                        Note: The Bill was introduced in the National Council of Provinces on 16 May 2012, but was classified out of order by the JTM and could not be proceeded with. (See ATC of 6 June 2012, p 2083).

 

TABLINGS

 

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

 

1.         The Minister of Finance

 

(a)        Annual Report of the Bank Supervision Department of the South African Reserve Bank for 2011.

 

(b)        Government Notice No R. 400, published in Government Gazette No 35369, dated 25 May 2012: Amendment of Schedule No 5 (No 5/97), in terms of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 (Act No 91 of 1964).

 

(c)        Government Notice No R. 433, published in Government Gazette No 35415, dated 8 June 2012: Amendment of Schedule No 1 (No 1/1/1441), in terms of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 (Act No 91 of 1964).

 

(d) Government Notice No 428, published in Government Gazette No 35403 dated 31 May 2012: Publication in terms of sections 8(3) and 15(1) of the Act, in terms of the Division of Revenue Act, 2012 (Act No 5 of  2012).

 

TUESDAY, 21 JUNE 2012

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

 

The Speaker and the Chairperson

 

1.         Bills passed by Houses – to be submitted to President for assent

 

(1)        Bills passed by National Council of Provinces on 21 June 2012:

 

(a) Appropriation Bill [B 3 – 2012] (National Assembly – sec 77).

           

(b)        Implementation of the Geneva Conventions Bill [B 10B – 2011] (National Assembly – sec 75).

 

MONDAY, 25 JUNE 2012

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

National Assembly

 

The Speaker

 

1.         Membership of Committees

 

The following changes to Committee membership have been made by the African National Congress:

 

Portfolio Committee on Communications

Appointed:        Lesoma, Ms RMM*

 

COMMITTEE REPORTS

 

National Assembly

 

1. Report of the Portfolio Committees on Rural Development and Land Reform; and Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries regarding a joint oversight visit on the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme and Land Reform in the Northern Cape, Limpopo Provinces, Free State and Mpumalanga, dated 23 May 2012.

 

The Portfolio Committees on Rural Development and Land Reform; Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, having undertaken joint oversight visits to the Northern Cape (28 February to 1 March 2011), Limpopo (2 to 4 March 2011), Free State (25 to 29 July 2011) and Mpumalanga (2 to 5 August 2011), report as follows:

 

Introduction 

 

The Portfolio Committees on Rural Development and Land Reform; Agriculture, Forestry and Fishers (the Committees) resolved to undertake a joint oversight in the provinces of Limpopo, Northern Cape, Free State and Mpumalanga. The Committees jointly visited 45 projects as listed in Table 1 of this report. The focus for the oversight visit was to assess implementation of the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme (CRDP) and land reform programmes of redistribution, restitution and tenure reform.

 

The CRDP is a strategic priority within the current Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) of government. It seeks to enable people in rural areas to take control of their own destiny with the support of government through optimal use and management of natural resources in order to achieve creation of vibrant and sustainable rural communities. It hinges on a three-pronged strategy of coordinated and integrated broad-based agrarian transformation, rural development, and an improved land reform. Land reform entails transfer of land to the previously disadvantaged individuals and communities in order to redress the inequalities in the patterns of land distribution that resulted from a long period of dispossession and racial segregation under the apartheid government policies.

 

The Committees assessed progress with regard to land redistribution and provisional complementary support services. It focussed on the interventions of the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) and the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF). The Committees sought to assess progress being made towards achieving outcome 7 of the MTSF which aims to ensure “vibrant, equitable and sustainable rural communities and food security for all”.

 

1.1 Objectives of this report

 

The objectives of the oversight visit was firstly, to assess progress in the implementation of rural development initiatives under the CRDP involving youth development initiatives under the National Rural Youth Service Corps, commonly known as NARYSEC. Secondly, investigate the extent of the challenge of post settlement for land reform beneficiaries. Thirdly, assess how the Revitalization and Development Programme and other support programmes such as the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CASP) could address the weaknesses of the current post-settlement support from government.

 

In view of the objectives of this oversight visit, this report will:

 

­ describe achievements and short-comings in relation to implementation of the CRDP, especially with regards to infrastructure development, job creation and food security;

­ describe the practices regarding post-settlement support for land reform projects and highlight prospects for, and threats to the wider programme of recapitalization and development for land reform projects across South Africa;

­ assess implementation of the different models of joint ventures under land reform, that is, share-equity schemes, strategic partnerships, and mentorships; and

­ highlight implications for policy as well as practice and conclude with recommendations for how both the DRDLR and DAFF should act. 

1.2        Sources of information and outline of the process 

 

This report draws on analysis of various reports submitted by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (from the four provinces) and provincial offices of the DRDLR. It also draws on the briefing sessions conducted by government departments and stakeholders, discussions of Members of Parliament with project beneficiaries, and observations by Members of infrastructure and usage of land at the identified projects.

 

The approach adopted by the Committees involved the following:

 

* Briefing session with Members of the Executive Councils and/or senior government officials in the identified provinces. These sessions were a useful platform for the delegation to be appraised about the state of agriculture, progress in land reform and rural development initiatives in the respective provinces. 

 

* Site visits at CRDP sites and identified land reform projects where the delegation conducted site inspections and walkabouts at various projects. The delegation further interacted with projects beneficiaries, relevant project managers and extension officers from government departments. The Committees always insisted on the departments making specific commitments to address specific concerns and requests from beneficiaries.

 

* Stakeholder and concluding meetings to conclude and debrief the entire visit as well as consider comprehensive responses of the departments on some of the pending questions which departments could not respond to at the time of site visits. Those meetings provided an opportunity for the delegation to discuss key findings and consider plans of action for further reporting by the departments.

 

Table 1 below, lists various projects visited by the Committees. As demonstrated, the Committees covered a range of land reform projects, mainly the Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development (LRAD), Settlement and Land Acquisition Grant (SLAG), Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy (PLAS), Restitution (involving joint venture models and self managed farms) and Tenure security projects. The Committees took care to ensure that various districts in the identified provinces were visited.

 

Table 1: Projects visited by the Committees 

Programme

Free State

Northern Cape

Limpopo

Mpumalanga

 

CRDP

 

Diatalawa,

Makholokoeng

 

Riemvasmaak (Vredesvallei and

Sending)

 

 

Muyexe

 

 

Mkhondo

LRAD/SLAG

Pitso Sikhoto,

Jan Zim,

Letoka,

Mbele

Silvermoon

Valley Junction

Sandraai Arbeidsgenot

Realegoba CC

Spanenberg

Blucuso Trust

Sisimuka, California CC, Bophelo Farming, Amukelani, Solester, Makgatho,Kwena, Machinana Trust

 

Nsimu Yami, Maphepheni

 

PLAS

Swaatkopies, Cecilia, Mieliespruit,Khotle, Kromspruit

 

-

-

Ryton,

Madjeliefde,

Restitution

Bethany, Blesbokfontein,

Mokgachane,

Boitumelo,

 

 

Moletele,  Mokgolobotho

 

Giba

Tenbosch

Champeign

Tenure Reform

Betlehem (Sisonke),

Masisi,

 

-

-

Maphepheni

 

1.3        Composition of the delegation

 

The delegation comprised: Hon Johnson, Mr ML (ANC), Hon Sizani, Mr PS - Chairpersons and the leaders of the delegation; Hon Matlanyane, Ms HF (ANC) - the co-leader of the delegation; Hon Twala, Ms M (ANC); Hon November, Ms N (ANC); Hon Phaliso, Ms NM (ANC); Hon Nyalungu, Ms RE (ANC); Hon Xaba, Ms PP (ANC); Hon Inkosi Mandela, MZD (ANC), Hon Pilusa-Mosoane, Ms NE (ANC); Hon Inkosi Cebekhulu, Mr NR (IFP), Hon Tolo, Mr L (COPE), Hon Gaehler, Mr LB (UDM); Hon Abraham, Mr S (ANC); Hon Prince Zulu, Mr ZB (ANC); Hon Bosman, Mr LL (DA) and Hon Steyn, Ms A (DA).

 

1.3.1     Parliamentary and Ministries’ officials

 

* Parliamentary officials supporting the delegation were: Nyamza, Ms P (Committee Secretary); Martin, Ms D (Committee Secretary); Manenzhe, Mr T (Content Adviser); Mgxashe, Ms N (Researcher), Pepeteka – Siyo, Ms T (Researcher) and Cele, Ms Y (Committee Assistant).

 

* The Ministries of Rural Development and Land Reform, and Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries were represented by Mr. Z Zweni, Mr.  Mr M Mashaba and Mr R Sebifelo respectively. In addition, provincial and national departments were also represented during the visits.

 

1.4        Plan of development

 

The report proceeds in three main sections: Firstly, it provides an overview of land reform, rural development and agriculture. Secondly, it documents observations about implementation of the CRDP, post settlement support for land reform projects and thirdly, other agricultural support mechanisms. The report concludes with conclusions and recommendations to the DRDLR and DAFF.

 

2.         Overview of land reform, agricultural support and rural development  

 

South Africa has various policies and strategies to achieve rural development and food security. The Medium Term Strategic Framework 2009 - 2014 and Outcome 7 of the 12 outcomes of Government for service delivery provide guidance on how government should implement strategies and policies. In the context of this oversight visit, critical issues under consideration were the rural development, land reform and food security, as part of the key programmes being implemented to achieve “vibrant, equitable and sustainable rural communities and food security for all”. The DRDLR has been given the responsibility to be the overall driver and coordinator for Outcome 7, which is about development and implementation of a comprehensive rural development strategy. The strategy is implemented in collaboration with DAFF.

 

Restitution is one of the key components of the land reform programme which has progressed amid difficulties. Of the entire 79 696 land claims lodged, the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights (CRLR) had finalized 57 726 claims. According to the Strategic Plan 2011 – 2014, the CRLR was yet to finalize 18 297 claims, with about 3 673 land claims that still required research. The CRLR was further verifying the accuracy of the number of land claims lodged and outstanding under the Records Management Project of the CRLR.

 

At the time of the oversight visit, the entire land redistribution (including restitution) had redistributed 7 per cent of the white owned agricultural land against the 30 per cent target to be achieved by 2014. Post settlement support for land reform, including provision of agricultural support in terms of capital and extension has proven to be a mammoth task for government; hence many of the farms transferred had become unproductive. Since 2009, government has introduced the Recapitalization and Development Programme (RADP) to assist in increasing productivity of land reform farms as well as supporting other emerging farmers. Through RADP, DRDLR has assisted land reform beneficiaries to enter into strategic partnership and joint venture schemes in order to bring all agricultural land transferred under land reform into full production.

 

2.1        Northern Cape

 

The Northern Cape covers 30 per cent of South Africa’s landmass and has an arid climate. In the east the average annual rainfall is 450-500 mm, while in the west it is 200 mm. In 2010, the total population of the province was about 1 103 900, accounting for 2.3 per cent share of the total population of South Africa. The province is one of the poor provinces of South Africa. Provided that farmers had access to irrigation water, mainly from either the Orange or the Vaal Rivers, farmers grow a variety of crops. The greater part of the province is predominantly utilized for extensive natural grazing. Animal and animal sector products sectors accounts for 50 per cent of the entire agricultural land use whereas the field crop sector and horticulture account for 25 per cent each. The economy of the province is dominated by agriculture and mining but the agricultural sector remains the main employer.

 

According to the 2009/10 Annual Report of the CRLR, a total of 3696 land claims lodged by 31 December 1998 were already settled. On the 31 March 2010 the Regional Land Claims Commissioner’s office (Northern Cape and Free State) was yet to settle156 land claims in the Northern Cape. The 2011/12 Annual Report of the CRLR indicated that 19 land claims, involving 5 rural claims, 8 urban and 6 dismissed claims, were settled during the financial year.

 

Land redistribution (SLAG, LRAD and PLAS) faced enormous challenges with regard to access to capital. Some of the projects were less productive hence the need to up scale service delivery by both government and non-government entities. The challenge of post settlement also affected the land restitution projects.

 

Since 2009, the DRDRL began to coordinate implementation of the CRDP as a pilot project at Riemvasmaak (Sending and Vredevallei). The pilot was implemented under the provincial championship of the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD). The DARD further developed a plan to rollout the CRDP across the rural wards in the Northern Cape with intention to address the challenges of job creation, social cohesion and infrastructure development.

2.2        Limpopo

 

Limpopo province covers 10.3 per cent share of the total land area of South Africa and is the fifth largest province and one of the poorest. By 2010, Limpopo had a total population of 5 439 600, accounting 10.9 per cent share of the total population of South Africa. Majority of the population live in the former Bantustans characterised by overcrowding, tenure that is legally insecure and lack many of the economic opportunities found elsewhere in the urban centres.

 

Alongside commercial farming is the small-scale and subsistence agriculture on communal lands. This forms part of the mainstream economic activity of the large section of the rural poor. Agriculture is an important source of income, where maize, fruit and vegetables are the main crops. The agricultural sector is reported to be the largest employer, outside the public sector, employing many of the workers who live on farms with their families under precarious tenure.

 

Land reform was being implemented on some of the high value land in Limpopo where subtropical fruits are being produced for export. Such crops are bananas, tea, avocadoes, mangoes and macadamia nuts. The land restitution programme affects many of such areas of high value and prime agricultural land. Hoedspruit and Tzaneen, sites visited in terms of the programme for oversight, a number of claims have been settled and redistribution projects (LRAD, PLAS and SLAG) have been implemented. New forms of equity schemes known as strategic partnerships have been initiated and implemented on large land restitution projects and some of the redistribution projects that the Committees visited.

 

As at 31 March 2010, the Regional Land Claims Commissioner’s Office of Limpopo (RLCC) had settled a total of 3070 land claims lodged by the cut off date and 419 land claims were yet to be settled (excluding 16 cases before the Land Claims Court). For the financial year that ended on 31 March 2011, the CRLR had settled 94 claims involving 38 rural and dismissed 218 land claims. A review of redistribution projects highlighted challenges related to up scaling of redistribution of land to contribute to the target of redistributing 30 per cent of agricultural land by 2014.

 

The CRDP was being piloted at Muyexe in an attempt to facilitate development in rural areas. The pilot project was expected to provide a model for rolling out the programme for comprehensive and integrated rural development. At the time of the visit, the focus of the CRDP was on phase 1, focusing on meeting the basic needs of ‘communities’.

 

2.3        Free State

 

The province of Free State accounts for 10.6 per cent of the total land area of South Africa. By 2010, the province had a total population of 2 824 500, which is 5.7 per cent share of the total population of South Africa.  Majority of the poor people are located in the former Bantustan areas. The landscape of Free State is dominated by agriculture, characterised by a diversity of agricultural products such as wheat, sorghum, sunflower, soya and cherry crop. Horticulture is increasing and becoming export-oriented. On the other hand, livestock farming is also a significant agricultural activity among the many commercial and emerging commercial farmers and is evidenced by the number of land reform projects in livestock farming.

 

As at 31 March 2010, The RLCC (Free State and Northern Cape) settled 2661 land claims lodged by the 31 December 1998 involving 40893 ha. During the financial year that ended 31 March 2011, 11 land claims involving 10 rural and 1 urban land claims covering 3837 ha were settled.

 

A review of the many redistribution projects shows that a substantial amount of land was transferred under the land reform programme. Both redistribution and restitution projects faced the challenge regarding the sustainability of production of farms transferred and access to capital. However, interventions such as the partnerships between VUKANI farmers and government with beneficiaries have begun to ensure that projects are revitalized and developed.

 

On the CRDP front, rural development initiatives have been implemented in Diyatalawa and Makholokoeng. The interventions also focussed on phase 1 of the CRDP which deals with meeting the basic needs through infrastructure development.

 

2.4        Mpumalanga

 

Mpumalanga Province occupies 6.3 per cent or 76 495 of the total land area of South Africa, with a total population of 3 617 600 or 7.4 per cent share of the total population of South Africa. The province is known for its forestry plantations and abundance of citrus and many other subtropical fruits such as mangoes, avocados, litchis bananas etc. Nelspruit, one of the largest citrus producing areas in South Africa, is found in Mpumalanga. This, therefore, explains why land reform is such as important programme in this area and why it should be addressed in manners that address the questions of equitable land ownership as well as agricultural growth.

 

By 31 March 2010 Mpumalanga had settled 2755 land claims involving some 400050 ha and the RLCC: Mpumalanga was yet to settle 645 land claims. During the 2010/2011 financial year, the RLCC: Mpumalanga settled 29 land claims involving 8 rural, 6 urban, and 15 dismissed land claims.

 

Review of land reform projects visited showed that the province has a huge challenge to manage processes of transfer of large capital intensive agricultural land; Hence, attempts of introducing strategic partnerships and mentorship programmes to assist land reform beneficiaries. The Mpumalanga Department of Agriculture Rural Development and Land Administration (DARDLA) reported that it supported 288 farmers or land reform projects with specialized advice, and assisted with technical support from planning to implementation of projects. There were also 20 approved partnerships and 19 others in progress that the DARDLA supported. One of the key programmes was Masibuyele Emasimini, where the DARDLA assisted in planting 730 ha on subsistence production and 30 ha on commercial scale. It further supported user associations and established commodity groups. A critical and significant contribution of the initiative is its job creation drive where 370 jobs were created thorough the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP).

The provincial government together with DRDLR was also implementing CRDP at Donkerhoek, in the Mkhondo Municipality under the championship of the DARDLA.

 

3.         Summary of observations of the delegation during the oversight visits

 

This section provides observations of the delegation with regard to Comprehensive Rural Development Programme, restitution, Pro-active land acquisition strategy, Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development, and tenure reform. It should be noted that this section does not attempt to provide observations for individual projects visited by the delegation but it pulls together common threads from different projects under similar programme.

 

3.1        Comprehensive Rural Development Programme

 

* A number of employment opportunities were created under the CRDP. However, a majority of those jobs were linked to infrastructure development and therefore were for a short period of time. Very few permanent positions were created. For example, 901 jobs were created at Muyexe, whilst 145, excluding NARYSEC, were created at Riemvasmaak.

 

* NARYSEC targeted to reach out to a number of young people, providing skills and creating a pool of skilled resource people in the local areas. However, there were challenges with regard to deployment of the recruits. Many of the trainees indicated that they were not placed anywhere and had no clear job description and as a result they just claimed their stipends at the end of the month. Although the NARYSEC representatives at Muyexe were satisfied with the work they were doing, those in Riemvasmaak reported that they were unhappy and that they just collected stipends at the end of the month There was no capacity building and usage of their skills.

 

* The delegation noted that some Councils of Stakeholders (CoS) were established. However, in most of the CRDP sites visited, the CoS did not meet regularly. An example of a failed CoS was in Diyatalawa which was reported to have failed to meet for 12 successive months. Some of the reasons why it had not met were because of poor coordination by government, lack of coherence in the vision for rural development especially the Free State Department of Public Works and Rural Development and the DRDLR. The delegation was further informed that the mandate of rural development was shifted from the Department of Public Works to Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

 

* The CRDP, in its initial phase, appears to have been dominated by large-scale infrastructure development At least until the visit of the delegation, there was less emphasis on ensuring that people took charge of their own development, capacity building programmes were limited to NARYSEC.

 

* The delegation observed over-reliance on service providers for activities that the project beneficiaries themselves could implement. One of the worst experiences during the oversight was a case in Diyatalawa where Department of Public Works and Rural Development in the Free State procured services of consultants to cultivate and plant backyard gardens for residents of Diyatalawa. The initiative undermined the efforts by government to empower rural people and ensure that they took charge of their own destiny.

 

* The greatest concern of the delegation was that there was evidence of lack of coordination and integrated planning by government departments. The DRDLR, as a driver for CRDP, had not found a working model that ensured all the provincial and national departments supported the programme, hence in places like Diyatalawa one would find houses completed but unoccupied. Another example was that the school built at Diyatalawa was not being used (at least for a year after it was completed). The explanation given was that there was no water yet as water supply points were about 100 meters away from the school.

 

* Planning of projects was not people driven. For instance, the government purchased dairy cattle for Diyatalawa irrespective of objections from the project beneficiaries. At the time of the oversight visit, the beneficiaries reported that there were conflicts between the beneficiaries and the government as the beneficiaries were ill advised about the dairy cattle and consultations were very minimal. The example was that the Department of Public Works and Rural Development in the Free State had taken away machines at the milking parlour.

 

3.2        Redistribution

 

* Many land reform beneficiaries continued to be dedicated to farming. Even though projects have not become what they intended, majority of these farmers (who farm at different levels) have stayed on farms amid difficult and constraining factors. These farmers, who can be regarded as smallholders, also produced at different scales.

 

* There was an increasing trend among LRAD and SLAG farmers to buy out those beneficiaries who might not have had interest in farming. The delegation found these incidences in the Free State and Northern Cape. However, the delegation could not establish if there were clear policies to guide how beneficiaries could be bought out of the farms. In a particular case in the Northern Cape, Silvermoon Project, about 10 beneficiaries were bought out at a price of R5000.00 each. In Limpopo, the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development had initiated a project to deregister beneficiaries but the project had stopped at the time of the visit.

 

* Overall, the delegation noted that there were increasing efforts to coordinate post settlement support to land reform projects, especially the LRAD, SLAG and PLAS farmers. It further observed that there was still a huge gap in provision for support and room for improvement. Progress has been noted with regard to provision of capital inputs, operation capital and kinds of start up capital.

 

* A Majority of PLAS farmers interacted with were without signed lease agreements at the time of the oversight visit. There was also no clear decision communicated to the beneficiaries about the terms of the lease. Farmers informed the delegation that there were different lease periods; for example, some spoke about five years whereas some highlighted that it could extended for 10 years and more. There were no clear responses why farmers did not have lease agreements. Due to the absence of long-term leases, farmers also felt lack of security was hesitant to invest on the farms because they did not own those farms.

 

3.3        Restitution

 

* The CRLR has resolved to strategic partnerships for transfer of prime agricultural land to land claimants. In Free State, Mpumalanga and Limpopo, various models of strategic partnerships were being implemented. There were however challenges with regard to payment of rent and sharing of dividends. The case of Mokgoloboto, just outside Tzaneen in Limpopo illustrates the problems of strategic partnerships and contested notions of what strategic partnerships should do. On all the strategic partnership projects visited, outside job creation for beneficiaries, there were no material benefits to households because of lack of sharing of dividends. Farm worker share equity schemes in the Northern Cape failed to empower the farm workers to play an active role in management of farms.

 

* The models of strategic partnerships do not solve the problem of landlessness because it leaves farms intact and people living on marginal lands. However, the Moletele case has illustrated that the claimant communities do want to return to their land, especially parts of the land that were not fully developed. The CPA has reported that it continually dealt with the demands of land from both the claimants and traditional leadership institutions. This issue remained unresolved.

 

* The cost of restitution is increasingly becoming unaffordable. Many of the claims on high value agricultural land are being settled in phases. In both Moletele and Tensboscch, the particular claims were not yet fully settled (it was unclear whether these land claims were part of the 95 per cent settled claims because they are not yet settled in full). Some cases would still need to go to court whereas some required further research and mediation prior to courts.

 

3.4        Agricultural Support

 

* The delegation noted improvement in coordination between the DRDLR and the provincial departments responsible for agriculture and rural development. This was evidenced by the kinds of support that the LRAD and PLAS projects received.

 

* Although some projects received adequate extension, there was a dire need for extension support on land reform projects. Such could be coupled with access to low cost inputs, credit, research and marketing.

 

* Recapitalization and development programme of the DRDLR had started to ensure that all agricultural land acquired for land reform were productive. The delegation noted that support has been provided to projects for a five year period. The model is further reliant on strategic partnership and mentorship arrangements to provide skills, capital and marketing. 

 

* CASP has been the only major funding mechanism that the delegation was able to find in relation to land reform support programmes by provincials departments responsible for agriculture and rural development. For the production on irrigation schemes and other agricultural land in the communal areas, a programme of mechanisation and Masibuyele Emasimini has been used in Mpumalanga.

 

4. Conclusions

In view of the above observations the following conclusions can be made:

 

* It is unclear what amount of land claims were yet to be resolved in the provinces visited. Failure to quantify the number of land claims could undermine efforts to plan for the finalization of claims and making available resources required for conclude the restitution claims.

 

* When land reform beneficiaries accumulated huge debts, especially with the Land Bank, they failed to accumulate savings for further reinvestment on the farms. Failure to repay the loans resulted in farms being repossessed. These arrangements could reverse the gains of land reform.

 

* Strategic partnership and mentoring of land reform beneficiaries sought to ensure skills transfer in farm management and marketing. Strict monitoring and evaluation of interventions such as mentorship and strategic partnership programmes could ensure that projects are rescued prior to their total collapse.

 

* Effective coordination of support for restitution and redistribution requires dedicated capacity to deal with a range of issues such institutional arrangements and farm management and production. In the absence of the Post-Settlement Unit in the CRLR, and Social Technical Rural Infrastructure Facilitation branched (STRIF) being perceived as dealing with CRDP sites and household profiling only, there was a huge gap in terms of coordinating support for restitution beneficiaries. This gap could potentially harm farm productivity and sustainability of land reform.

 

* Absence of clear performance agreement with the NARYSEC recruits could lead to non-performance of the youth being recruited.

 

* The success of a programme of rural development is reliant on coordinated and integrated planning which entail that a range of sector departments come into a local sphere to contribute to local development initiatives in a coordinated and integrated manner.

 

* The allegations of fraud and corruption at the Communal Property Associations (CPAs) of Giba and Tenbosch; and the Diyatalawa CRDP project could further create negative perceptions about land reform and rural development.

 

5. Recommendations

 

In view of the observations and the conclusions of this report, the following recommendations are made:

 

* The DRDLR together with the CRLR should, within two months after adoption of this report, report to Parliament about progress in settlement and finalization of all land claims lodged by 31 December 1998. The report should outline the verifiable number of land claims still to be settled and finalized, the estimated amount of funding required for settlement and finalisation of all claims, and plans to secure such funding and by when all those land claims would be settled.

 

* The CRLR should, within two months of adoption of this report, present to Parliament the verifiable statistics about performance of restitution since 1994 to date. This information should clarify the 95% of settled land claims per province. How many of the settled claims were finalized and files closed; and how many of those were partially finalized (settled in phases)? Further information should provide

 

* There is a need to assist the LRAD beneficiaries struggling to repay their Land Bank loans. However, the means of assistance should be sought in consultation with the beneficiaries themselves. Therefore, the DRDLR should facilitate support mechanisms from DAFF and the Land Bank in order to ensure that the gains attained through enabling access to land by the black farmers are not undermined. The DRDLR and the DAFF should report to Parliament about the plans of support and progress to that effect within two months after the adoption of this report.

 

* The DRDLR and DAFF should include in the monitoring and evaluation of programmes indicators that illustrate whether developmental initiatives are improving the livelihoods of beneficiaries. Success of land reform projects, especially joint ventures (strategic partnerships and equity schemes) should not only be judged by increase in productivity and maximisation of profits only. Changes in socio-economic conditions of the beneficiary households should be accorded even greater attention.

 

* The DRDLR should put in place mechanisms that clarify the role of STRIF in post settlement support for land restitution, LRAD and PLAS projects. Support mechanisms should transcend the narrow focus on profiling and training of beneficiaries but extend towards coordination of extension support from the DAFF/DARD, Municipalities and any other government or non-government agencies involved in agriculture and rural development. 

 

* The DRDLR and DAFF should be involved in the formulation of all agreements for strategic partnership or equity schemes. The Northern Cape DARD and the Provincial DRDLR should within one month of the adoption of this report, submit progress report in support of Silvermoon to finalize mentorship or strategic partnership – whichever model is deemed appropriate.

 

* The DRDLR should enter into performance agreement with the NARYSEC youth and clearly detail what their roles should be and the DRDLR should report to Parliament within three months after adoption of this report.

 

* The rural development initiatives should consider initiatives that could result in long-term and sustainable jobs for the rural communities.

 

* The DRDRL should investigate allegations of corruption and fraud at Diyatalawa (Free State), Tenbosch CPA and Giba CPA (Mpumalanga) report to Parliament within three months after the adoption of this report.

 

* The DRDLR and DAFF should enhance their capacity for coordination of land reform and agricultural support programmes, integrated as a broader strategy for rural development.

 

Report to be considered.

THURSDAY, 28 JUNE 2012

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

 

The Speaker and the Chairperson

 

1.         Assent by President in respect of Bill

 

(1) Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act Amendment Bill [B 19 – 2012] – Act No 6 of 2012 (assented to and signed by President on 23 June 2012).

 

National Assembly

 

The Speaker

 

1. Membership of Assembly

 

(a)        The vacancy which occurred in the National Assembly owing to the passing away of Ms N F Nyanda has been filled with effect from 13 June 2012 by the nomination of Ms J P Ngubeni-Maluleka.

 

(b)        The vacancy which occurred in the National Assembly owing to the passing away of Mr R L Padayachie has been filled with effect from 15 June 2012 by the nomination of Ms A Mfulo.

 

TABLINGS

 

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

 

1.         The Minister of Trade and Industry

 

(a)        Government Notice No R.362 published in Government Gazette No 35327 dated 10 May 2012: Debt Counselling Regulations, 2012, in terms of the National Credit Act, 2005 (Act No 34 of 2005).

 

(b)        General Notice No 379 published in Government Gazette No 35328 dated 10 May 2012: Labelling of products originating from Occupied Palestinian Territory wrongly labelled as originating in Israel in terms of section 24 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2008 (Act No 68 of 2008).

 

(c)        Government Notice No R.385 published in Government Gazette No 35348 dated 15 May 2012: Draft Amendment Regulations on National Gambling Regulations, 2004 (Re-certification of gambling machines), in terms of the National Gambling Act, 2004 (Act No 7 of 2004).

 

(d)        Government Notice No R.386 published in Government Gazette No 35349 dated 15 May 2012: Amendment of Regulations regarding gambling advertising and exclusions register, in terms of the National Gambling Act, 2004 (Act No 7 of 2004).

 

(e)        Proclamation No 32 published in Government Gazette No 35358 dated 17 May 2012: Transfer of administration, powers and functions entrusted by the Estate Agency Affairs Act, 1976 (Act No 112 of 1976), to another Cabinet Member in terms of section 97 of the Constitution.

 

(f)         Government Notice No R.384 published in Government Gazette No 35338 dated 18 May 2012: Notice of amendment of the Regulations of the Act published by Government Notice No R.2362 of 18 November 1977, as amended, in terms of the Trade Metrology Act, 1973 (Act No 77 of 1973).

 

(g)        General Notice No 450 published in Government Gazette No 35400 dated 1 June 2012: Codes of Good Practice on Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment, in terms of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act, 2003 (Act No 53 of 2003).

 

(h)        General Notice No 485 published in Government Gazette No 35423 dated 6 June 2012: Codes of Good Practice on Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment, in terms of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act, 2003 (Act No 53 of 2003).

 

National Assembly

 

1.         The Minister of Human Settlements

(a) Housing Development Agency draft regulations, submitted for consultation with Parliament in terms of section 32 of the Housing Development Agency Act, 2008 (No 23 of 2008).

 

Referred to the Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements and the Interim Joint Committee on Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation for consideration and report.

 

FRIDAY, 29 JUNE 2012

 

COMMITTEE REPORTS

 

National Assembly

 

1. REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON CORRECTIONAL SERVICES ON PROGRESS MADE IN THE COMPLETION OF CERES, VANRHYNSDORP AND BRANDVLEI NEW-GENERATION CORRECTIONAL CENTRES CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION IN THE WESTERN CAPE- DATED 20 JUNE 2012

 

1.         INTRODUCTION

1.1.       A delegation of the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services (the Committee) visited the site of the new-generation correctional centre under construction in Ceres, to investigate the reasons for the delay in its completion, as well as the delays in the completion of the Vanrhynsdorp and Brandvlei projects.

 

1.2        Overcrowding is one of the Department of Correctional Services’ (DCS) major challenges: in the Western Cape the level of overcrowding averages 180%. Given that the old Ceres, Brandvlei and Vanrhynsdorp centres were not designed for rehabilitation and also could not accommodate the large inmate population, the decision was taken to entirely rebuild them.

 

1.3        The visit comprised a briefing by the department of public works and correctional services’ regional and area management, a tour of the Ceres site, interactions with the construction company responsible for the Ceres and Vanrhynsdorp projects, and finally a debriefing session.

 

1.4        A series of questions for written response were forwarded to the DCS, the Department of Public Works (DPW) and the construction company responsible for the Ceres and Vanrhynsdorp projects,. The DPW and DCS’ written responses were discussed during a follow-up meeting held on 22 February 2012.

 

1.5        None of the three centres were completed on time. In a meeting held on 23 May 2012 the Committee was informed that all three would be operational by the end of the 2012/13 financial year.

 

1.6        The delegation paid a brief visit to remand detainees accommodated at the Ceres centre. Though the observations made during that interaction are not recorded here, concerns are similar to those raised elsewhere: the need to separate those in remand for the first time, and habitual offenders; the effectiveness of the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services’ (JICS) indepedendent correctional centre visitors; and the impact of delayed police investigations and court proceedings. The Committee had in the past made numerous recommendations in this regard and, though not repeated here, those remain relevant.

2.         BACKGROUND

 

2.1        Ceres project

2.1.1     The old Ceres Correctional Centre could accommodate 238 inmates. Once renovated, its capacity will be doubled. The new centre will accommodated 500 inmates and will comprise two housing units, single cells, a hospital and a kitchen. Each housing unit will comprise four communal cells accommodating 60 inmates each. The remaining bedspaces will be for those inmates who will be assisting with the delivery of nutrition services and will be accommodated in cells near the kitchen.

 

2.1.2     The contract, which initially valued R 212, 5 million. was awarded in 2008, and construction commenced on 11 July of that year. The renovations were meant to have been completed by 10 July 2010, but, at the time of the visit, construction was still under way.

 

2.1.3     ,Scope changes resulting from experience accumulated during the construction of the Tswelopele Correctional centre, and the inclusion of a solar-heating system, offender-management system and PMC flooring resulted in an approximately R30,4 million escalation in the cost of the project. At the time of the visit, penalties to the amount of R3,63 million had already been charged to the contractor for falling behind schedule.

 

2.1.4     The DCS listed inclement weather, soil conditions, public holidays, construction delays, strike action, electricity shortage and builders’ holidays for the 287-day delay in the completion of the project.

 

2.2        Vanrhynsdorp project

2.2.1     The old Vanrhynsdorp Correctional Centre could accommodate 327 inmates. Once completed, its capacity too will be doubled. The new centre will accommodate 540 inmates. Upon completion it will accommodate both male and female offenders. Male offenders will be accommodated in two units comprising four communal cells each, while the women will be accommodated in four communal cells. The centre will also have a segregation unit accommodating eight inmates.. Like the Ceres centre, the centre will have its own kitchen and hospital.

 

2.2.2     The contract was awarded on 12 October 2007, and initially valued R220 million. The project was meant to have been completed by 12 October 2009.

2.2.3     Scope changes resulting from experience accumulated during the construction of the Tswelopele Correctional centre, the extension granted by DPW, the construction of a see-through passage that would make the heritage building visible from the street, and the inclusion of a solar-heating system, offender -management system and PMC flooring resulted in an approximately R90 million escalation in the cost of the project.

 

2.2.4     The DCS listed inclement weather, additional public and builders’ holidays, unexpected land formations, late delivery of materials and additional scope changes for the 366-day delay in the completion of the project.

 

2.3        Brandvlei project

2.3.1.    The old Brandvlei Correctional Centre could accommodate 654 inmates. The new centre will have 1 000 bed spaces and will comprise four housing blocks. Each block will comprise units accommodating 240 offenders in six 10-bed communal cells. Each unit will have two single cells. There will also be a segregation unit for those offenders who will need special care. In addition to the state-of-the-art kitchen, which will provide meals to the surrounding medium, maximum and youth centres, the centre will also have its own hospital rendering primary health care (including dental care) as well as a dispensary. The new centre will provide facilities for formal education and skills development.

 

2.3.2     At 64 degrees Celsius the Brandvlei Thermal Spring is the hottest in South Africa, and delivers 126 litres of water per second. The new correctional centre, as well as the staff quarters, will be provided with hot water through an energy-saving project that had just been completed at the time of the visit.

 

2.3.3     The contract, initially valued at R315,6 million, was awarded on 3 October 2008, and was scheduled for completion by 2 June 2010. As projected in March 2011, the centre was eventually completed in September that year. At the time of the visit, however, the date for it becoming fully operational was still unknown owing to IT installations that had not been completed.

 

2.3.4     At the time of completion, the cost of the project had escalated by approximately R89,5 million. The escalation resulted from scope changes i.e. the late addition of the laundry, a linking passage, extension of time granted to the contractor, and the prison management system.

 

2.3.5     The DCS listed extensions of the completion date, electricity shortages, and builders’ holidays as the main reasons for the 365-day delay in the completion of the project. Extensions granted accounted for 308 of these days.

 

3.         OBSERVATIONS

3.1        Reasons for the delay in completion

The reasons provided for the delays in completion were mostly unsatisfactory. Some of them are elaborated on below.

 

3.1.1     The delegation was particularly perturbed by astonishing claims that builders’ holidays, which could be predicted and factored into planning, were listed among the unforeseen causes of delay. The DPW explained that the contract period was calculated in working days, and included the builders’ holidays. Once a contract extends over a builders’ holiday, that time is added to the contract, because extensions too are calculated in working days.

3.1.2     The contractor claimed that, because the Ceres and Vanrhynsdorp projects were basically Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP) projects, delays were caused by the use of about 500 inexperienced and “unsophisticated” labourers who, prior to their involvement in the project, were “nothing more than farm-workers”. In a written response to the Committee’s initial observations, the contractor added that, whilst it supported the aims and objectives of the National Youth Service (NYS), those it had to employ on the project in terms of its contract with the DPW, “have not always been beneficial” to the project, mainly owing to lack of motivation, absenteeism and lack of experience. The DPW denied most of the claims regarding the extent to which labour-related challenges had contributed to the delays. The value of the EPWP/NYS initiative totaled only 1% of the anticipated final cost of the Ceres and Vanrhynsdorp projects. The contractor was not prevented from employing additional, qualified artisans and/or labourers. The contractor had been aware at tender stage that the NYS initiative was a mandatory component of the contract and could have made due allowance for it.

 

3.1.3     The contractor’s claims that the two projects’ were in “rural farming communities” and that, therefore, the building material, skilled labour and “specifically construction capacity” demanded by the “extremely high specifications and quality of workmanship required by the employer” were also refuted as credible explanations for the delays, particularly because the location of the centres and labour requirements of the projects were known to the contractor at the time tenders were submitted, and could therefore have been factored in.

 

3.1.4     The contractor’s responses to concerns voiced, and the long delays associated with both contracts awarded to the company in question, raised concerns about its shareholding, suitability and about the reasons why it had been awarded a second contract, when it had failed to deliver in terms of the first. According to the DPW, the second contract was awarded only nine months after the first project had commenced. At that time the contractor had only been approximately five days behind schedule, and was not considered a risk. The company’s shareholding was provided to the Committee in writing.

 

3.1.5     The Committee was amazed that the DCS, despite having claimed that the Tswelopele Correctional Centre, which itself had been subject to many expensive delays, would serve as the blueprint for future new-generation correctional centres, had apparently abandoned this blueprint in the case of the three correctional centres. The DPW denied that the blueprint had been completely abandoned and explained that the Ceres and Vanrhynsdorp projects had started 12 months before the Kimberley project was completed, and that, although the generic plan was used in the planning of the two Western Cape facilities, changes came about as a result of knowledge and experience acquired during the Tswelopele construction.

 

3.1.6     The contractor responsible for the Ceres and Vanrhynsdorp projects, in a written submission to the Committee, bore some responsibility for the delays, but claimed that the ‘professional team’ had some responsibility too. They claimed that, as a broad-based black economic empowerment enterprise (BBBEE), they had not been treated fairly but had been isolated at every opportunity by the ‘professional team’, and that the latter’s failure to acknowledge their own role in the delays had severely prejudiced the contractor’s rights and the “due fulfillment of the contract”. These claims were not made during the visit, but were submitted in writing after, and the DCS and DPW have therefore not had an opportunity to respond.

 

3.2        Reasons for escalations

3.2.1     The DPW acknowledged that it faced professional capacity challenges which impacted on how it managed its projects. That notwithstanding, the DPW explained that, once a project has been initiated and changes of scope resulting in escalations are requested by the client department, that department is made aware of the cost implications and has to give the go-ahead to continue with the changes in scope. Feasibility studies were done for each of the three projects. All variation orders were discussed with the DCS. The DPW confirmed that escalation clauses were contained in all contracts exceeding six months, and therefore such clauses were included in all three contracts. The Contract Price Adjustment Provisions (CPAP) allow for contracts to be adjusted in accordance with the Joint Building Contracts Committee’s (JBCC) 2000 Principal Building Agreement Edition 4.1 (March 2005).

 

3.2.2     The Committee noted that letters were sent to contractors that were underperforming, and thought this intervention meaningless as it did not force contractors to adhere to their contractual obligations. It was suggested that contractors who habitually underperformed should be blacklisted. The DPW explained that only National Treasury could blacklist companies. According to the JBCC and General Conditions of Contract for Construction Works (GCC), should a contractor underperform or fail to perform and complete the project on time without justification, that contractor should first be placed on terms in line with conditions of contract i.e. the JBCC or GCC. In cases where contracts had to be reviewed for the above-mentioned reasons, the chief financial officer (CFO) or supply chain manager (SCM) was obligated to supply National Treasury with their details.

 

3.2.3     It was noted that additional excavations, which had resulted in additional costs, had to be done owing to trial holes that misrepresented the soil condition. Ground conditions recorded during the investigation phase of a construction project were the basis and gave direction to the design of, for example, foundations, floors and walls. According to submissions made by the DPW and DCS, additional excavations had to be performed because trial holes dug during the investigation phase of the three projects had ‘misrepresented the soil conditions”. At Ceres different ground conditions were discovered after construction had commenced, at Brandvlei unexpected underground structures required changes, and at Vanrhynsdorp “underground structures” were encountered, which the DPW claimed could not have been detected during planning. The Committee questioned the legitimacy of these explanations, and thought the additional excavations were the result of poor planning on the part of the contractors, and poor monitoring by the DPW.

 

3.2.4     Scope changes to the Vanrhynsdorp and Ceres contracts had resulted in escalations of about R40 million. The DCS ascribed the scope changes to lessons learnt during the Tswelopele project, the inclusion of solar-heating systems as per the DPW requirement, and increased electricity tariffs. The DPW indicated that the DCS had provided it with a generic layout of what their requirements were for the “new-generation” facilities. This layout could not be implemented exactly in any of the three projects, but had to be adapted to accommodate conditions specific to each of the sites. As shortcomings were identified, changes recommended were approved by the DCS. All of the scope changes were DCS-approved.

 

3.3        Role of the Accounting Officer in ensuring compliance with contracts

3.3.1     The Committee was unconvinced that the DPW and DCS’ accounting officers had done enough to ensure that the contractors adhered to the terms of their contracts. The delays, and associated cost escalations, might have been avoided had greater caution been exercised during the tender process, and greater control and management of the project once contracts were awarded.

 

3.4        Electricity supply

3.4.1     The DPW indicated that the three facilities had been constructed within the confines of existing correctional facilities and therefore had power connections to the supplier grid. Eskom could meet the Brandvlei centre’s maximum power requirements, but additional supply would have to be applied for. Although an application to increase the power supply had been submitted, the project also provides for energy-saving measures such as the use of hot spring water and the use of only one kitchen for cooking. The power to the Vanrhynsdorp site had been increased to the maximum that the local municipality could provide. Shedding devices have been installed to control peak consumption. The Ceres facility was connected to the supply-authority grid and therefore power is available. Each centre will have generators for use in the event of a power failure.

 

3.5        Projects’ contribution to job creation

3.5.1     At the time of the visit, the Ceres, Vanrhynsdorp and Brandvlei correctional centres reported 125, 135 and 200 vacancies respectively. According to the regional management, the excess vacancies had been created with the understanding that students would fill them once their learnerships had been completed in March and October 2012. As these could only be filled once the centres became operational, the delegation voiced its dissatisfaction that the delays in construction had resulted in a lack of meaningful job creation in the region.

 

3.6        Training and Development

3.6.1     The DPW explained that the EPWP/NYS initiative was a Government training initiative aimed at contributing to the artisan skills development programme and targets youth interested in careers in the built environment. While it had not formed part of the requirements of the initial Brandvlei contract, it was part of the Ceres and Vanrhynsdorp project documentation. Between 2007 and 2008, 104, 124 and 65 learners had received training as part of the Ceres, Vanrhynsdorp and Brandvlei projects respectively.

 

4.         RECOMMENDATIONS

The Committee requests that the Minister of Correctional Services (the Minister) ensures that the following recommendations are considered, and where possible, implemented. The Minister should further ensure that responses on their feasibility and/or implementation progress reports are submitted within one month of the adoption of this report.

 

4.1        The DCS and DPW should provide clarity on how the delays could be justified /rationalised, particularly in relation to accounting officers’ obligations in terms of sections 38 and 39 of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), and the relevant National Treasury regulations.

 

4.2        The DCS should provide clarity on what the monies earmarked for the funded posts which had not been filled owing to the delays in the completion of the three projects had been spent on and/or would be spent on pending the coming into operation of the centres.

 

4.3        Despite the DCS’ continued complaints of the DPW’s failure to deliver services as per its mandate, the Committee has had no indication of the DCS’ commitment to ensuring that the DPW delivers, or that the working relationship is improved. At the time of the compilation of this report, the long outstanding DPW-DCS service-level agreement (SLA) had not yet been concluded. The DCS’ reasons for the delay are unacceptable to the Committee. While the Committee acknowledges the challenges experienced by the DPW in executing its mandate, it cannot be denied that the DCS has done little to ensure that services are delivered. As recommended in our report on the 23 January 2012 oversight visit to the Barberton management area, the DCS should provide the Committee with a written report on the reasons for the delay in concluding its SLA with the DPW.

 

4.4        The long delays in the above-mentioned projects, and the various claims made by the contractor, raised serious concerns about the integrity of the tender process, and, in particular, the composition of bid-adjudication committees. The DCS and DPW should ensure strict compliance with the relevant PFMA and National Treasury requirements. Every effort should be made to ensure that the integrity of the tender process is maintained. In addition, bid-adjudication committees should comprise individuals who are suitably experienced and qualified, and therefore able to identify unrealistic proposals, which, as in the case of the above-mentioned projects, inevitably lead to costly delays.

 

4.5        The Committee fully supports broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) initiatives, but Government departments, in this case the DCS and DPW, should ensure that contracts are awarded to candidates that are able to provide quality services, on time and at reasonable prices. In addition those that are awarded contracts should have an understanding of Government priorities such as skills development and job creation. Contractors’ awarded Government projects should not use their obligations in this regard as an excuse for poor delivery. Action should be taken against those who repeatedly fail to deliver in terms of their contractual obligations.

 

5.         ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The Committee expresses its appreciation to the regional and area management of the the three centres, the DPW officials, the contractors, as well as the local authorities who had participated in the visit and the subsequent discussions.

Report to be considered.

 

2. Report of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education on an Oversight Visit to the Ohlange Senior Secondary School, Inanda, Durban, dated 8 May 2012.

 

The Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, having undertaken an oversight visit to the Ohlange Senior Secondary School in Inanda, Durban on 20 February 2012, reports as follows:

 

1.         Introduction

 

As part of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education programme for the term, the Portfolio Committee undertook oversight visits to the Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga and Limpopo Provinces to monitor the state of readiness of schools for the 1st term of 2012. Coupled to      these visits, the Portfolio Committee also had a keen interest in those schools which may have been declared National Heritage Sites. The Ohlange Senior Secondary School in Inanda, Durban was one such privileged school and a delegation of the Portfolio Committees on Basic   Education, undertook an oversight and monitoring visit to the school on Monday, 20 February 2012.

 

Because of the rich history of Ohlange Senior Secondary and the fact that sections of the school was proclaimed a National Heritage Site, part of the focus of the engagement was to better understand the day-to-day operations and activities of the school, the impact of being declared a National Heritage Site and how best the Portfolio Committee could lend the necessary support to the school. The visit also allowed Members of the Committee the opportunity to receive a much broader orientation of the challenges faced.

 

It was important that schools such as Ohlange Senior Secondary, with its rich history and heritage status was revived, properly managed and not allowed to deteriorate in any way. For this reason, the Portfolio Committee had gathered together all the relevant stakeholders to the engagement to understand the challenges and seek ways of giving the necessary assistance and support. The engagements with the Ohlange Senior Secondary involved the National Department of Basic Education, the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Education Department, District Officials, the principal and his School Management Team (SMT),Organised Labour and the School Governing Body (SGB).

 

2.         Composition of delegation

2.1 Parliamentary Delegation

 

The delegation from the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education comprised of Hon H H

Malgas MP (Chairperson), Ms N Gina MP (Whip), Mr Z S Makhubele MP, Mr D Bandi

(Content Advisor), Mr L Mahada (Parliamentary Researcher) and Mr L Brown (Committee

Secretary).

 

2.2 Stakeholders

 

Mr T E Dladla – Principal, Mr S C Mntambo – Office of the District Manager, Dr G Msimango – General Manager, Mr M E Nxumalo – SGB Chairperson, Mr S E Khumalo – SMT Member, Ms M S Ngidi – SGB Member, Mr P R Khuzwayo – SMT Member, , Mr M G N Chiu – SMT Member, Mr K V Muthwa – SGB Member, Mr N V Ngcobo – Site Steward, Mr Z B Khoza – SMT Member, Mr V B Dlamini – SGB Member, Mrs M L Makhathini – SMT Member, Mr M S Majola, Mr M S Mathonsi – SADTU, Mr S A Nxumalo – SADTU, Mr B Khuzwayo – SADTU, Mr M Dlamini – SADTU, Mr B Mthembu – SADTU, Mr D Dickson – Provincial Department of Education, Mr B Mpanza – Provincial Department of Education and Mr T Nkomo – National Department of Basic Education.

 

3.         Ohlange Senior Secondary School

 

3.1 Overview

 

Ohlange Senior Secondary School was located in Inanda in the Pinetown District in the Mafukuzela-Gandhi Circuit. The school was ranked Quintile 4 and had 865 learners with a staff complement of 41. The school was founded by the late Rev. Dr J L Dube in 1901and was the site where Dr Nelson Mandela cast his vote in our first democratic elections of 1994. It was a boarding school that comprised 23 classrooms, a laboratory, a technical drawing room, a home economics centre, a computer centre, administration block and library.

 

            The school provided accommodation for 94 boarders – 31 boys and 63 girls. Parents paid an amount for catering and security services. The boarding hostel had two house keeping supervisors and one Boarding Master. Staff at the school for 2011 could be categorised as follows:

 

* Educators                   - 34

* Administrative staff     - 4

* General assistants       - 20

* Security                      - 5

* House keepers            - 3

 

3.2 Observations

 

            In 2011 SANLAM donated R 55 000.00 for the renovation of the school sports field. In addition, the Natal Rugby Union and the Sharks sponsored the school with and amount of R 260 000.00 for the upgrading of the sports field. Infrastructure projects under way in conjunction with the Department and Mngeni Water included:

 

 * The upgrade of the SMT offices, staffroom, foyer and reception area, the Deputy        Principal’s office, classrooms and hostels (hostel fencing included)

 * Renovation and upgrade of toilets

 * Renovation and reinforced security for the Computer Centre

 * Overhauled water and electricity supply

 

            Apart from the above, the school had a proposal for sponsorship of the following:

 

 * Funding for building 6 extra classrooms

 * An additional HOD office and staffroom

 * Fencing for the entire school

 * A Life Sciences Laboratory

 * Refurbishment of the sports field

 * A school vehicle

 * New computers for the second Computer laboratory and the upgrading of the present computers

 

The school also introduced morning and afternoon classes during the week for Grades 11 – 12. The principal mentioned that they had a very good working relationship with parents and the SGB. Because the school was not happy with the past Matric results, the school had adopted a turnaround strategy – which also included Saturday classes. It was heartening that the school was moving in the right direction - for the past two years the school had managed to maintain its pass rate. Educators were very committed to the learners and the school and there were measures in place to deal with many of the challenges currently being faced. Due to the socio-economic environment the school was located in, they had difficulty with parents paying the school fees (+/- 60 percent non-payment). In the past, the school had a screening process/admission policy – this was not the case currently and all learners were accommodated; with learner social background having an effect on the school in general.

 

One of the subjects offered at the school was Life Sciences/CAT - and a major challenge            was the outcry by the school for new computers for their second Computer Centre and the upgrading of the existing computers. The outcry was for at least an extra 30 computers for the school. In the past, the school had received numerous donations of computers – but due to a lack of reinforcement and security of the Computer Centres, many had been stolen. However, with the infrastructure projects run by the Department in conjunction with Mngeni Water, the Computer Centres were being renovated and the security reinforced.

 

The Chairperson of the SGB indicated that educators were demoralized due to the rampant corruption and nepotism at the school. Issues he brought to the attention of the Committee included:

* Inadequate administration

* Vandalism of the Hostel

* A portion of the school ground used for an FET college – without consultation and permission of the school itself

* No report on the investigation into school funding irregularities – the school having three bank accounts, monies having been donated to the school etc.

* Earlier recommendations to the Provincial office coming to no fruition

* Cottages that were fund-raised for educators being occupied by others

* A filthy, dilapidated school yet there were 21 non-teaching staff at the school

 

SADTU was of the view that because the challenges at the school had been engaged upon in so many ways and forums, it was important that an Adhoc Committee be established to focus on the challenges and produce the necessary remedial action to be taken. This Adhoc Committee needed to look at the short, medium and long term solutions to issues dealt with. The Committee, with the help of the National, Provincial and District Offices, the Portfolio Committee, SMT, SGB and Unions, would look at ways of soliciting funding for the various infrastructure projects.

 

3.3        Responses

 

The principal indicated that since taking office he had attended meetings that had no bearing on learning and teaching, but peripheral matters. He also indicated that the problems experienced with learners were manageable and was being addressed. Unfortunately the Provincial official was not able to answer to most of the issues raised as they fell outside of his directive. The issue regarding the withdrawal of the HOD position advertised was due to school enrollment figures of the previous year which warranted 5 HOD positions. However, with the current post provisioning and latest enrollment figures, the school was only allowed 4 HOD positions. It was the school prerogative which of the HOD positions would be filled. The District official indicated that they were aware of the issues raised and the various investigations that had been launched to date. Unfortunately many of the investigations were unresolved/not finalised. Where they were completed, reports had been forwarded to the line function management with findings and recommendations.  

3.4        Recommendations

 

Ohlange Senior Secondary needed to do an urgent audit of all that they require and was short of. This needed to be communicated to the Provincial Office for processing. The Provincial Department needed to submit the reports on all investigations completed, unresolved and yet to be finalised (with timelines). It was important that the school received all the necessary support from the District as well as the Province. The Department needed to produce clear programmes of intervention in respect of infrastructure development – the school was special and needed to be prioritised. 

           

Report to be considered.

 

3. Report of the Portfolio Committee on Communications on the oversight visit to the Northern Cape, West Coast and City of Cape Town from 17 – 20 January 2012, dated 29 May 2012

 

The Portfolio Committee on Communications (the Committee), having undertaken an oversight visit to the Northern Cape (Springbok) and Western Cape (West Coast and the City of Cape Town) from 17 – 20 January 2012, reports as follows:

 

1.         Background

 

In 2009, the President assented to the Money Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Act (No. 9 of 2009). The Act aims to provide for a procedure to amend money Bills before Parliament and related matters. In broad terms, the Act provides the procedure for Parliament to amend the budget, which includes the annual Division of Revenue Bill (although the bill is not classified as a money bill in terms of the Constitution), the annual Appropriation Bill and Adjustments Appropriation Bill. Provision is also made for the procedure to amend other money Bills.

 

In light of the need to speed up progress on South Africa’s developmental challenges, government is shifting to target outcomes. To improve service delivery and increase accountability, the Presidency announced the adoption of 12 measurable outcomes, which will become the focus of policy and implementation. These objectives, with associated and defined targets should be reached by 2014, of which Outcome 6 and 12 speak directly to the Department of Communication’s (the Department) targets and Government Communication and Information Service (GCIS) respectively.

 

1.1        Introduction

The President, in his 2011 State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA), reminded Parliament of its role of holding the executive accountable and of performing an oversight role that ensures service delivery benefits to all people, especially those without basic services. To this end, the Committee undertook an oversight visit to two provinces, namely (i) part of the Northern Cape (Springbok) and (ii) part of the Western Cape (West Coast and the City of Cape Town), with the intention of overseeing the provision of services (including projects) by the Department and GCIS and their entities.

 

The oversight included visits to regional offices of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) and Sentech; South African Post Office (SAPO) outlets; and projects of Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) (Community Media) and Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA) (telecentres).

 

1.2        Objective

(a)        The Committee embarked to this oversight visit in line with its role and mandate as per (i) the Constitution; and (ii) the Rules of Parliament.

 

(b)        The objective of the oversight visit served as the measurement indicator against the service delivery commitment by the executives. The theme of the oversight was "Touch, Feel and See" how technology contributes to better the lives for all and amongst others the areas of focus were as follows:

 

(c)        The progress strides made in the progressive realization of rights as contained in section 16(1)(a) and (b) of the Bill of Rights: (i) Freedom of the media; and (ii) Freedom to receive or impart information or ideas;

 

(d)        Efficiency of the Regulator (ICASA) in licensing community broadcasting, and monitoring compliance of licensees with license conditions, as well as other challenges that the Regulator faces especially in this sphere of broadcasting;

 

(e) The role played by Sentech in signal distribution for broadcasting and challenges they are facing in providing services to these provinces; and

 

(f) Successes and challenges: (i) experiences by USAASA in deploying telecentres for ICT services; (ii) experiences by SAPO in rolling out postal outlets, addresses and functionality of Public Internet Terminals (PITs); and (iii) rollout of telecommunications and broadcasting infrastructure.

 

Day 1 (17 January 2012)

 

2.         Northern Cape Province (Springbok)

2.1        Delegation

2.1.1     Members

The delegation of the Committee consisted of Mr SE Kholwane, ANC (Chairperson and leader of the delegation), Ms Z Ndlazi (ANC), Mr D Kekana (ANC), Ms R Morutoa (ANC), and Mr N van Den Berg (DA).  Ms A van Wyk (ANC) joined the Committee on 18 January 2012 and Ms W Newhoudt-Druchen (ANC) joined the Committee on 19 January 2012.

 

2.1.2     Support Staff

Mr TK Ngoma (Committee Secretary), Ms S Peer (Committee Secretary), Mr S Nene (Committee Researcher), Mr G Mankay (Committee Assistant) and Mr K Matlala (Assistant to Mr D Kekana).

 

2.1.3     Stakeholders accompanying the Committee

The Committee was accompanied by the Department of Communications, South African Post Office (SAPO), South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA), Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA), Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), and Sentech.

 

Day 2 (18 January 2012)

The Committee visited the following entities and projects: (i) NFM Radio Station; Vanrhynsdorp Thusong Centre; (ii) Vanrhynsdorp Post Office; (iii) Sentech; (iv) Vredendal Transmissions Control Centre (TCC); (v) Vredendal Post Office and (vi) Namakwaland Radio Station.

 

3.         Northern Cape & Western Cape

3.1        Radio NFM

The Committee was welcomed by the Station Manager, Mr Brunhild Strauss, and the members of the Board.  The Committee was also introduced to one of the radio presenters, Ms Geraldine Joseph, who had obtained training in English and !Nama and is a presenter of kiddie’s programme in !Nama.

 

3.1.1     Overview of Namakwa Community

Poverty is widespread in this region at 74.96%. The population consists of 7.39% of inhabitants over the age of 65 and 25% under the age of 15. Five per cent of the population has no schooling and only 1.54% has higher education.  Thirty six per cent of households are registered as indigent whilst 25% receive social grants, namely child support, disability and old age.  Five per cent of households are in informal dwellings and 2.4% in traditional huts; however 91% have access to electricity, rendering only 5 per cent of the community with internet access.

Mining is the largest sector in the community, contributing 52% to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Of late, there has been a substantial decline of employment in the mining sector. The radio station presented a keen willingness to assist government in preventing such declines. They assented to the fact that tourism would be an advantage in this regard through an integrated and coherent approach by government and the community.

 

3.1.2     Radio NFM 98.1

 

Radio NFM 98.1 is a community radio station situated at Okiep, near Springbok in the Northern Cape.  It services a total population of approximately 140 000 people.  The broadcast area covers land space in Southern Namibia, Namaqualand and the Western Cape.  The station broadcasts a variety of programmes 24 hour a day, seven days a week. It broadcasts in Afrikaans, English, !Nama and IsiXhosa.  The station is part of the provincial radio forum affiliated to National Community Radio Forum (NCRF).

 

3.1.3 Radio Programmes

The station has the following programmes:

(i) Current Affairs; (ii) Health and Education; (iii) Women and Youth talk shows; (iv) Indigenous Education (!Nama and IsiXhosa); (v) Economic Development in the Namakwa Region; and (vi) Entertainment (Braaivleis stories).

 

3.1.4     Successes

The following successes were highlighted: (i) Obtained a 5-year licence from ICASA; (ii) Secured frequency from Sentech; (iii) Obtained funding from MDDA; (iv) Has a positive working relationship with other community radio stations in Northern Cape; (v) Has a mentoring relationship with Eden community radio station; (vi) Capacity exchange programme, partnership with media centre; (vii) Climate change conference with UCT and other South African Development Community (SADC) countries during November 2011; (viii) Covered all budget speeches during 2011; (ix) Marketed the Maloofe World Cup in Namakwa; (x) Conducted various interviews with the President, Ministers, Premier, MECs and local politicians; (xi) Interviewed national and local business people and celebrities; (xii) Annual Teen Choice Awards; (xiii) Gospel Shows; (xiv) Social responsibility programmes; (xv) Broadcasts outside events (festivals, business promotion days, local government outreach, live council meetings, local elections); (xvi) Obtained local sponsorships e.g. Spar, OK, Trek Nissan, Vedanta, Black Mountain and De Beers; and (xvii) Local Programme Production for national media (e.g. RSG).

 

3.1.5     Challenges

The following challenges were raised:

 

3.1.4.1 Financial viability:  (i) high tariff distribution costs for Sentech: currently the radio station pays R25 000 per month whilst it has a debt of R320 000; (ii) negative cash flow due to late payments from sectoral government departments in the province; (iii) lack of funds for continuous training in the automated, controlled and coordinated financial and information management system; (iv) stipends offered instead of salaries due to lack of income; (v) prescribed fees from government for adverts put constraint on growth; and (vi) no community financial support due to high rate of unemployment.

 

3.1.4.2 Human Resources:  (i) non-adherence to corporate governance by the Board; (ii) needs more effective and motivated staff; and (iii) training needed for staff, management and the Board.

 

3.1.4.3 Operational:  (i) need to obtain additional frequency from ICASA in order to broaden reception area; (ii) there is no support from DoC; (iii) uneven spreading/distribution of government adverts and programmes; (iv) old equipment and maintenance costs are too high;  (v) lack of resources to transport movable equipment; (vi) lack of  alternative energy resources in the event of power failures; (vii) stronger local government partnerships needs to be formed as well as promotion of public participation of local government services;  (viii) there is a need for stronger network due to a lack of understanding of the community radio stations; (ix) opportunities to tender are lacking and need more government programmes as content; and (x) the radio station cannot mitigate the high costs for signal distribution and it will have a direct impact on the station’s footprint coverage. To this end, NFM requested ICASA and Sentech to assist in this regard.

 

3.1.5     Tour of the station

During the tour, the Committee noted with concern the status of equipment, which is fairly old and outdated, and the continuous power failure.

 

3.1.6 Recommendation

The Committee recommends that the Department should provide a progress report on the undertakings they made in relation to providing support to the station, whilst ICASA and Sentech should provide a report on the expansion of coverage.

 

3.2        Vanrhynsdorp Thusong Centre

The Committee was welcomed by the Centre Manager, Ms Joannie Stuurman. 

 

3.2.1     Overview of Centre

 

The centre provides services to the 6 000 inhabitants of the area. It has various programmes to keep the youth occupied, which include labour and correctional services projects. 

 

USAASA and Cape Access work together to provide services to the community. For example, two unemployed community members were sent for training in community safety and defence.

 

3.2.2     Challenges

 

The centre has the following challenges:  (i) there is a lack of employment opportunities in the area except for seasonal work on farms; (ii) unemployment contributed to high a level of substance abuse; (iii) there is a definite shortage of funds as the centre requires funding for the completion of the swimming pool; (iv) there is also a shortage of equipment; and (v) clear guidelines are required in respect of who to contact when IT faults are encountered.

 

3.2.3     Site visit

The Committee was taken on the tour of the centre.

 

3.2.4 Recommendations

The Committee noted (i) the duplication of roles by USAASA and Cape Access and (ii) non-connectivity of USAASA computers, and recommends that USAASA should provide a detailed report on how it plans to assist the centre and clarify its role in relation to the centre against that of Cape Access.

 

3.3        Vanrhynsdorp Post Office

The Committee was welcomed by the Regional Manager, Mr Johan Jordan.

3.3.1     Overview of the Post Office

The Retail Postal Outlet has been in existence for close to eight years and has recently been converted to a fully fledged Post Office. It operates under the auspices of an Acting Regional Manager and an Acting Area Manager. It has a total number of 250 boxes, with 85 free boxes.  With regard to operational issues, the number of customers served is 6561, with transaction volumes of 6281, and productivity amounts to 94.02% and there are no mail carry over volumes. The Post Office has 1910 postal addresses delivery points, of which 1828 are residential points, 52 business points and 30 flats.

 

3.3.2     Challenges

The Post Office highlighted the following challenges: (i) no signage boards; (ii) no counter or ramps to assist people living with disabilities; (iii) there are no counter screens to protect staff from possible burglaries; (iv) staff does not have uniform; and (v) the Post Office is not used for pension payouts.

 

3.3.3     Recommendations

The Committee noted that: (i) ICASA does not perform inspections as required; and (ii) there was no PIT machine and GCIS information stand.

 

The Committee recommends that: (i) ICASA must comply with its mandate of conducting postal inspections; (ii) the Post Office must urgently fill vacant funded positions within the region; and (iii) the Post Office must comply with the requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

 

3.4        Sentech – Vredendal Transmissions Control Centre (TCC)

The Committee was welcomed by the Regional Manager, Mr Patrick Sikhosana.

 

3.4.1     Regional overview

Sentech regional office is situated in Cape Town, with four TCCs in Cape Town, George, Vredendal and Upington.  The structure has an acting head for the Eastern and Western region; one senior TCC Manager in Cape Town with 22 staff members, one TCC manager in Vredendal with nine staff members, George which has nine staff members, Upington has  seven staff members; and one support services manager in the Western region with seven staff members.

 

3.4.2     Vredendal TCC

Vredendal TCC operates in the North Western part of the country, which includes both the Western Cape and the Northern Cape.  Employees are subjected to travel long distances to sites and this occasionally causes a delay in the turnaround time of resolving lodged complaints. Some parts of the region do not receive radio and television signals; however this is being addressed through the rollout of the low-power transmitters.

 

Sentech’s Vredendal TCC has the following clients: (i) community broadcasters – N FM in Okiep, Springbok and Radio Namakwaland in Vredendal (Vanrhynsdorp); (ii) commercial broadcasters – K FM; and (iii) Public broadcasters – SABC 1, 2 and 3; RSG; SAFM; R2000 (Alexander Bay) and 5 FM (Alexander Bay).

 

Sentech is currently busy with the expansion of network and coverage for N FM Radio, SABC 1, 2, and 3 and Radio Namakwaland through low-power transmitter sites.

 

3.4.3     Low-Power Transmission

Sentech has, to date, rolled out and switched on 50 low-power public FM radio and television stations in remote areas where such coverage did not exist previously. Of the 50 sites, eight will be served by the Vredendal Office.  This number excludes self-help sites.

3.4.4     Challenges

Sentech presented the following challenges which affect the rollout of low-power transmitters: (i) unavailability of land (to install low-power transmitters and refusal of property owners to co-operate with Sentech to erect transmitters on their properties), infrastructure and energy for the network’s smooth operation; (ii) identified sites for installations are already owned (Municipalities, Department of Public Works and private); (iii) bureaucratic or red tape involved in approval stages of the municipality are slowing the  delivery of low-power transmitters; (iv) no site sharing agreements in place with telecoms operators (Telkom, MTN, etc); (v) lack of electric power in targeted areas; (vi) some municipalities view the low-power transmitter project from a commercial point rather than a public service mandate; (vii) broadcast coverage is sparsely spread due to topography challenges; (viii) Information Communications Technologies (ICTs) are not prioritised in the  Integrated Development Plan of municipalities; (ix) private land owners charge exorbitant fees to their premises; and (x) Greenfield Network Deployment.

 

3.4.5     Engagement Model

Sentech highlighted the following engagement model in relation to low-power transmitters: (i) Sentech, the SABC and government have committed 100 low-power transmitters in areas with no television broadcast services; (ii) the local municipalities will serve as a focal point of interaction and engagement; (iii) the Municipal Manager will be the first point of entry in seeking the municipal support; (iv) presentations are being made to affected Municipal Councils to sensitise them about the benefits of the low-power project and specifically Sentech’s mandate; (v) the district residents, like many other communities, deserve to be informed about what is happening nationally and internationally in order to participate in the economic process; and (vi) radio continues to be an important communication tool in district livelihoods, as such it is necessary to bring radio services to the districts as well.

Sentech will reach these targets as it believes that access to information is a constitutional right for all citizens.

 

3.4.6     Western Cape Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) Migration Coverage

Western Cape DTT rollout at launch will be as follows: (i) 13 sites are ready for the launch; (ii) 22 sites are not ready for the launch; and (iii) total population coverage will be at 82.9%.

 

3.4.7     Committee remarks

Apart from having to travel long distances to attend to technical faults and signal interference, the Committee commended the work done by Sentech in the Vredendal area.

 

3.5        Vredendal Post Office

The Committee was welcomed by the Regional Manager, Mr Johan Jordan.

 

3.5.1     Overview of the Vredendal Post Office

The Post Office has a total number of 1 400 boxes. A total of 449 boxes were given to people who do not have delivery addresses for free, and the rest are rented out.  The Post Office services about 68 500 clients, with transaction volumes of 117 197 and productivity amounts to 109% with no mail carry over volume.

 

It has 2 982 delivery points, of which 2 712 are residential points, 140 business points and 130 flats. The Post Office has an occupational safety certificate.  The security of the Post Office is administered according to security policies and varies from branch to branch. The Vredendal branch has the standard alarm system with burglar bars and additional security guards on pension days.

 

3.5.2     Challenges

The Post Office building is not accessible to people living with disabilities, e.g. there are no ramps. Furthermore, there is no counter for people living with disabilities and staff does not have corporate wear (uniforms). Due to a court ruling the community is prevented from drawing pensions from the Post Office.

 

3.6        Namakwaland Radio

The Committee was welcomed by the Station Manager, Mr Bernard Lamprecht.

 

3.6.1     Overview of Namakwaland Radio

 

Namakwaland Radio is a Christian community radio station and has been in existence for 15 years and represents a huge portion of the community. The area in which the station is located has a population of 110 000 and the listernship is 76 000 which is predominantly Afrikaans speaking community, and new residents are often compelled to learn Afrikaans.

 

The radio station has a one-hour Xhosa programme on Sunday mornings despite the fact that this does not form part of their licence condition. Other programmes relate to news, insurance, health, religious, addressing HIV/AIDS and poverty. Many of these programmes are done in conjunction with government departments. The radio station has 15 freelance presenters.

 

3.6.2     Challenges

The radio station has filed complaints with ICASA with the intention to resolve the issue of being allocated the same name as the one allocated to NFM radio station in Okiep. The matter was initially raised by the community radio station with the Department. However, there has been no response from the Department.

 

3.6.3     Recommendations

The Committee recommends that ICASA should investigate the issue of the similar names between NFM and Namakwaland Radio.

 

Day 3 (19 January 2012)

The Committee visited Citrusdal Post Office and the following projects: Impact News; Atlantis Community Radio; Atlantis Thusong Centre; Bush Radio; Zibonele Community Radio and Dizindaba Newspaper.

 

3.7        Citrusdal Post Office

The Committee was welcomed by the Regional Manager, Mr Johan Jordan.

 

3.7.1     Overview of Citrusdal Post Office

The post office has a total number of 500 boxes, with 126 free boxes and 348 are paid.  The post office services about 30 319 customers, with transaction volumes of 61 332. Productivity amounts to 158.6% and there are no mail carry over volumes.  The post office has 450 postal address delivery points, of which 421 are residential points and 29 business points.

 

3.7.2     Challenges

The Post Office highlighted the following challenges: (i) they were forced to move out of their rented building due to the lease agreement coming to an end, and have temporarily relocated to SAPO premises; (ii) no funds were available for a major revamp in the 2011 budget; (iii) there is a serious lack of space at the premises, as the space is shared with a spaza shop which has full access to the Post Office; and (iv) employees are subjected to inhumane conditions.

 

3.7.3     Recommendations

The Committee noted that: (i) the Post Office was filthy; (ii) when the shop closes, the Post Office has to close as well; (iii) there were no emergency exits in the building; (iv) employees were subjected to inhumane conditions; and (v) ICASA had failed to conduct its postal inspection.

 

The Committee recommends that: (i) an immediate intervention by SAPO to improve the conditions, (ii) the Post Office will be revisited in May 2012 to check on the improved conditions, and (iii) should the Post Office fail to improve, it should be closed down or moved to another location.

 

3.8        Impact Newspaper

The Committee was welcomed by the Publisher, Mr Peter Lategan, and members of staff.

 

3.8.1     Overview of Impact 247 Newspaper

Impact 247 serves as the media office of Atlantis, in partnership with Eureka – a non-governmental organisation (NGO) – and Cape Town TV.  A total number of 11 000 copies of newspapers are printed, with 150 distribution points. The newspaper is aiming to distribute newspapers to post boxes as well.

 

3.8.2     MDDA Support

The newspaper received grant funding from the MDDA in September 2011 which resulted in the procurement of the following:  (i) personal computers, furniture, cameras and other necessities required for news gathering; (ii) payment of rent, printing and distribution costs for one year; and (iii) payment of stipends for six part-time and freelance staff members.

 

3.8.3     Objectives

The objectives of the newspaper are to: (i) promote positive living and positive choices, especially amongst the youth; (ii) showcase success stories and positive trends from within these areas; (iii) promote small, micro and medium businesses; (iv) create a culture of entrepreneurial thinking and business-mindedness amongst the youth and the community media at large; (v) engage in several public awareness for change, nuclear energy, responsible usage of resources like water and electricity, education and human rights issues; (vi) address the needs and challenges facing the community, including lack of housing, substance abuse, school drop-outs, teenage pregnancies and other social dilemmas.  This will be discussed in a frank, direct manner and challenge local decision makers and politicians where needed; (vii) provide in-depth journalism and commit to give stories a positive spin and investigate ways to turn negative situations around; and (viii) offer training, empowerment and internship opportunities within the various facets of the publication.

 

3.8.4     Successes to date

The newspaper has achieved the following: (i) it has made a concerted effort to appoint local residents in every facet from the communities it serves; (ii) it makes use of locally based business to provide office furniture, computers and most other equipment and services; (iii) several local residents and professionals make regular contributions to the paper by writing columns and providing news;  (iv) positive feedback is received from local police, schools, local councilors and businesses on the quality of content and layout; (v) it has a regular monthly feature called “Straat Praat” where it regularly interviews residents on the streets and features their comments in the monthly publication; and (vi) two ex-Atlantis residents in media, now living in Europe and Dubai respectively, availed their skills to become involved with some of the online facets and writing for the paper.

 

3.8.5     Key focus areas

The newspaper has the following key focus areas: (i) to address challenges in the community; (ii) to promote debate and dialogue in the community; (iii) to promote historically diminished culture/s and language/s; and (iv) to promote literacy levels and a culture of reading.

 

3.8.6     Training needs in the project

The newspaper highlighted the following training needs: (i) news-gathering training for junior journalists (ii) selling and marketing skills for the marketing team; (iii) training in desktop publishing and design for the editor and one other staff member; and (iv) editor and staff needs training in IsiXhosa.

 

3.8.7     Challenges

The newspaper highlighted the following challenges:

 

3.8.7.1  Printing costs:  (i) escalating printing costs on annual basis; (ii) engaging with alternative printers / other possibilities; and (iii) regional “printing entities” are being discussed.

 

3.8.7.2  Sustainability assistance:  (i) at least three years for business to reach sustainability; and (ii) after one year the project would still need to be assisted in terms of printing and distribution.

 

3.8.7.3 Advertising:  (i) the local economy has been hard hit by the ongoing global economic woes and closure of several local employers; (ii) the other local publication (owned by Media24) has been serving its clients for more than twenty years, thus making major in-roads into the existing markets; (iii) long term commitments / contracts; and (iv) Eskom committed but contract outstanding due to moratorium placed on supplier database / verbal agreement.

 

3.8.8     Committee remarks

The Committee expressed its satisfaction with the overall conditions of the newspaper and services provided to the community.

 

3.9        Atlantis Community Radio

The Committee was welcomed by the Station Manager, Ms Rachel Watson, and Board members.

 

3.9.1     Background

Radio Atlantis is a community radio station situated in Atlantis, on the West Coast, about 50 km outside Cape Town.  The station was established in 1993 and went on air for the first time in September 1995.  It acts as a medium to empower the community in its broadcast area, through education and information and providing a voice to such communities.  Its broadcast area currently includes, amongst others, Atlantis, Mamre, Witsand, Pella, Duinefontein, Melkbosstrand, Milnerton, Tableview, Nuwedorp, Darling and all the other surrounding farming areas on the West Coast.

 

The station broadcasts 24/7 in Afrikaans, English and IsiXhosa. Its community is predominantly black and female.  Its programming schedule covers all age groups and all social sectors.  The station has a listenership of between 40 000 – 110 000.

 

3.9.2     Mission Statement

Radio Atlantis acts as a medium to empower the community in its broadcast area, through education and information, and provides a voice and entertainment to such communities and promotes the rights of those who have been denied their basic human right in the past, in particular women and children.  It strives to achieve financial sustainability without compromising its social responsibility towards the community in its broadcasting area.

 

3.9.3     Achievements

The station has the following achievements:

 

3.9.3.1  Moved to new premises:  (i) safer environment; (ii) cost cutting in terms of rent and office space (iii) business revenue; and (iv) community participation.

 

3.9.3.2  Major Facelift:  (i) from shabby to a more professional look; (ii) office furniture; and (iii) electronic equipment.

 

3.9.3.3 New broadcasting studio:  (i) professional look; (ii) good sound quality; (iii) more and improved features;  (iv) community visitors; (v) won back old listeners and gained new listeners; and (vi) organisation / business.

 

3.9.3.4  Improved financial situation:  (i) accrued valuable assets (tower, vivid decoder, flat screen TV and recorder); (ii) gained confidence of advertisers and other role players; (iii) payment of staff and debt; and (iv) pays stipend to community volunteers.

 

3.9.3.5  Structural changes:  (i) constitutional amendments; (ii) new Board reflecting community organizations; (iii) regular Annual General Meetings; (iv) 47 volunteers and 45 friends of Radio Atlantis; and (v) has a staff compliment of three.

 

3.9.3.6  Visibility in community:  (i) attendance at meetings and events; (ii) sponsored volunteers as hosts / MCs and DJs; (iii) crime accident scenes; (iv) partnered with community organizations (on historical events); and (v) support to the labour movement on citizens’ rights matters.

 

3.9.3.7  Socio economic:  (i) voter education; (ii) relocation of Social Services; (iii) dumping site; (iv) revival and restructuring of Atlantis Youth Development Forum and Family in Focus; (v) successes of the South African Police Service regarding crime prevention; (vi) creating awareness: female condom march in October 2011 and HIV/AIDS march on 1 December 2011; (vii) wheelchair sponsorship to the physically disabled; (viii) cancer relay event; (ix) Atlantis Cape Town Arts and Cultural Festival; and (x) provides matriculants with bursaries.

 

3.9.4     Challenges

The station has the following short-term and long-term challenges:

 

3.9.4.1  Short-term:  (i) to find a home for Radio Atlantis; (ii) to obtain a tax clearance certificate; (iii) to find a sponsor for the upgrading of the production studio; (iv) to improve working conditions for volunteers and staff; (v) to improve communication with government departments; (vi) to create a database: bursars for the youth; (vii) to have a vehicle for the station; and (vii) no support from the City of Cape Town.

 

3.9.4.2  Long-term:  (i) Media Training Centre; (ii) Radio Atlantis newsletter; (iii) Community TV; and (iv) history project: books / documentary.

 

3.9.5     Committee remarks

The Committee requested the MDDA to assist the station to comply with its funding requirement for a community radio station.

 

3.10      Haartebeeskraal Thusong Service Centre

The Committee was welcomed by the Centre Manager, Mrs Julie Mentoor.

 

3.10.1   Overview of the centre

The centre was established in 1996 as a training unit in the information communication technologies. It operates from Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 21:00. It has a general service counter, a tele-centre and an Internet kiosk. 

 

3.10.2   Functions of the centre

The centre provided the following services: (i) ICT training to 5 400 learners including career guidance and job seekers; (ii) Internet access for bursaries, employment, tenders and general information; (iii) CVs, typing and laminations; (iv) photography for the centre newsletter; (v) distributer of the Vukuzenzele; (vi) webmaster of www.atlantis.za.net; and (vii) designer of Atlantis TV.

 

3.10.3   Challenges

The centre has the following challenges: (i) uncertainty of the future of the programme (USAASA vs Cape Access); (ii) the Western Cape government withdrew its funding for the centre; and (iii) due to unavailability of a 24-hour security system, the ICT infrastructure is not safe.

 

3.10.4   Committee remarks

The Committee noted with concern the planned takeover of the centre by the City of Cape Town and the provincial Department of Local Government. The Committee commended the centre for providing universal access to the Atlantis community.

 

3.11      Bush Radio Community Radio

The Committee was welcomed by the Station Manager, Ms Brenda Leonard.

 

3.11.1   Overview of the radio station

Bush Radio was officially formed in 1992. After repeatedly applying for a broadcast licence to the apartheid government in 1992, the station decided to broadcast illegally. Both the chairperson of the Board and the coordinator were arrested. The case was withdrawn in 1994.

 

3.11.2   Operations

Operational activities include: (i) broadcasting; (ii) upliftment projects (YAA, plastic covers, St Anne’s Home); (iii) scholarships (staff, volunteers and students); and (iv) training (internships, SACRADE attachments) Human Potential Development (CREW, MKK). The station broadcasts 24/7 with a 60% talk and 40% music split. It has 27 news bulletins that amount to 130 minutes per day. 

 

3.11.3   Sustainability

The station has diverse sources of income. Advertising forms 50% of income, sponsorship is another form of income but no sponsorship of news is accepted. Donors/grants provide income for some of the social upliftment projects such as CREW, Media Kidocracy Konference (annual) and the school HIV and AIDS Education Project. Other income sources include fundraising, selling of merchandise, training fees, internship fees and services provided, which include outside broadcasting, administration and management fees for projects. 

 

3.11.4   Station’s projects

The station has the following projects which are developed to serve the community better or more directly: (i) Children’s Radio Education Workshop and school media clubs; (ii) Media Kidocracy Konference; (iii) Annual 16 Days of Activism; (iv) buy nothing day against commercialism; (v) women and technology; (vi) voices of change with struggle veterans; (vii) Matric revision programme with Western Cape Education Department; and (viii) Media Connection Vodacom Community Funny Festival.

 

3.11.5   Challenges

The station highlighted the following challenges: (i) Sentech high signal distribution tariff costs; (ii) Southern Africa Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) charges extensive calculation fees and mechanical rights; (iii) South African Advertising Research Foundation (SAARF) is not producing expected research results for community media; and (iv) political pressure from different political organizations monopolises current affairs programmes.

 

3.11.6   Possible solutions

The station proposed that: (i) a certain percentage of advertising revenue be used for training/development of community media; (ii) government must commit to use 30% of advertising revenue on community media; (iii) the Department provide clear indications on community radio station subsidies and improve communication with the stations; (iv) the Department provide an annual grant for community media and review pricing/levies for community media with Sentech, SAMRO and Universal Service Access Fund; and (v) in respect of compliance, problem areas should be identified and a programme of action should be developed and implemented, for example SARS – tax amnesty period for community media.

 

3.11.7   Committee remarks

The Committee expressed its satisfaction with the way the radio station has maintained itself.

 

3.12      Zibonele Community Radio

The Committee was welcomed by Mr Mzamo Ngomana, Station Manager.

 

3.12.1   Overview of the radio station

Radio Zibonele was established in 1993 in Khayelitsha as a home-made radio station. It broadcasts from the heart of Khayelitsha, 24 hours a day and comprises talk and music. Its content is derived from the community. It employs 19 full-time employees and seven volunteers. It trains 10 young people from the community yearly, providing skills in sound and radio broadcasting.

 

3.12.2   Government support

GCIS supports the station with content through government programmes and these include the state-of-the-nation address; talk to your minister; special programmes from other departments; and adverts for campaigns. The station received programme production of R292 000 from the MDDA of which the contract is pending under themes such as women talk shows; functions of government talk shows; HIV/AIDS mini drama; and women’s drama show. The station has received an amount of R116 000 as a first payment.  At the time, the station did not have a working relationship with the Department.

 

3.12.3   Challenges

The station highlighted the following challenges: (i) government still controls the advertising rates of the station; (ii) the station was receiving a minimal fund from GCIS as opposed to the station’s rate card; (iii) the Western Cape Provincial Government utilises the station but did not provide any funds; and (iv) due to lack of space on the current premises, the station was unable to proceed with a skills development drive.

 

3.12.4   Committee remarks

The Committee expressed its satisfaction with the manner in which the radio station is run. The radio station was generally well organised, had smart offices and provided maximum service to the community.

 

3.13      Dizindaba Newspaper

The Committee was welcomed by the Publisher, Mr Mzwandile Ed Mangxaba.

 

3.13.1   Overview of the newspaper

Dizandaba News venture became a reality through the assistance of the MDDA. It is the only IsiXhosa newspaper in Cape Town and is a means of overcoming language barriers. The target market is non-educated and poor people. The newspaper was named after an old Xhosa man, Dizamahlembo. Diza means to reveal, hence its name.

 

Generally, one copy of the newspaper is being read by 25 people in informal settlements.  This newspaper is unique because it serves as a source of information and news to migrants. It covers stories about migrants in the Eastern Cape.

 

3.13.2   Challenges

The following challenges were highlighted: (i) only 10 000 copies are printed mainly due to lack of staff and funding; (ii) advertisements are going predominantly to big, well established newspapers; and (iii) state-owned enterprises do not support community media through the placement of advertisements.

 

3.13.3   Committee remarks

 

The Committee noted that the newspaper was encountering transformational problems.

 

Day 4   (20 January 2012)

The Committee visited Cape Town Television, Sentech and ICASA regional offices in Cape Town.  After the visits, the Committee held a stakeholders meeting at the Cape Sun Hotel.

 

3.14      Cape Town Television (CTV)

The Committee was welcomed by Ms Karen Thorne, CTV Station Manager.

 

3.14.1   Overview of CTV

CTV was initiated by a group of arts and media organisations, including Arts and Media Access Centre (AMAC), Mediaworks, Bush Radio, Community Video Education Trust (CVET), Workers World Media Productions (WWMP) and Public Eye.  Many of the individuals associated with CTV were instrumental in developing a policy and regulatory framework for community TV since the early 90's. The station is concerned with the direction that community TV is taking in practice which represents a departure from the original intent enshrined in broadcasting legislation.

 

3.14.2   Purpose

The purpose of the station is to: (i) strengthen civil society and give people a voice; (ii) promote human rights and social justice; (iii) promote participatory democracy and sustainable development; (iv) provide training and job opportunities in the television industry; (v) promote local language and culture; (vi) promote freedom of expression and the right to communicate; (vii) promote access to information and education; and (viii) promote social cohesion and common purpose.

 

3.14.3   Structure

CTV has the following structure: (i) it is owned and controlled by the community through a democratic, representative structure with civil society organisations qualifying as members; (ii) its members include NGOs and community-based organisations (CBOs) as well as sports, labour, education, arts and media organisations; (iii) these sectors have equal representation on the board which is elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM); and  (iv) CTV engages with members on policy and programming matters.

 

3.14.4   Operations

CTV has the following operations: (i) it was launched in September 2006 by over 100 NGOs and went on air in September 2009; (ii) it broadcasts 24 hours a day to a monthly cumulative viewership of 1,5 million viewers, largely based on the Cape Flats; (ii) it employs a total of 32 staff (including interns) and it engages up to 100 volunteers per annum in various capacities; and (iii) it has its own office space but utilises studios owned by partners such as AFDA and the University of the Western Cape (UWC). However, this is not a suitable arrangement and the station is trying to raise funds to set up its own studio. 

 

3.14.5   Community participation

The community participates in the station as follows: (i) individual community members submit "community-generated content", host talk shows in open studio and apply for volunteer posts; (ii) civil society organisations influence policies and programming, participate in programme production and have access to TV studios; (iii) independent producers produce independent and co-productions for/with CTV; (iv) in relation to community radio, CTV aims to build the capacity of community radio stations to produce content for CTV, in particular CTV News; (v) Educational Institutions: Work with CTV to develop educational content, submit student films, students work on CTV productions, place interns at CTV; (vi) government: 5% airtime set aside for government programming and (vii) religious organisations: 10% airtime set aside for religious content.

 

3.14.6   Business model

CTV has the following business model: (i) CTV is a non-profit organisation with all profits ploughed back into the station; (ii) the station has no private investors as it is believed that this would threaten the non-commercial orientation of the channel; (iii) CTV derives revenue from advertising (10%,) donations and sponsorship (40%), airtime sales (40%) and community donations and sundry income (10%); and (iv) diverse revenue streams ensure that no one source of funding dominates and therefore exerts undue influence. 

 

3.14.7   Challenges

The station has the following challenges:

 

3.14.7.1 Sustainability: (i) CTV is critically under-funded, making it difficult to fulfil its mandate; (ii) CTV has not received sufficient support for infrastructure costs despite the fact that it costs around R2 million to set up a community TV station; (iii) CTV only receives approximately R1 million per annum from the MDDA; (iv) CTV’s repeated appeals to the Department to subsidise transmission costs have been ignored; (v) the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) does not consider community TV to be part of their mandate; (vi) CTV has not received any support from the local or provincial government; (vii) The GCIS has recently started to advertise on CTV, which is a positive development; (viii) CTV is still paying unacceptably high signal distribution tariff costs of R67 000 per month; and (ix) Community TV stations cannot be expected to generate more than a third of their revenues out of advertising and certainly not in the first two to three years.  

 

3.14.7.2 Policy and Regulatory Issues:  (i) regulatory uncertainty in the first three years had a debilitating effect on the channel; (ii) ongoing lack of clarity on CTVs inclusion in the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) creates further insecurity; (iii) poor licensing procedures have resulted in the failure of many community stations which has made community TV stations vulnerable to commercial take-over; and (iv) CTV is being moved to new analogue frequency in March 2012 to make way for DTT. 

 

3.14.8   CTV Recommendations

CTV recommended as follows: (i) CTV needs at least R3 million annual baseline funding from the MDDA;  (ii) the Department should subsidise the transmission costs of CTV with immediate effect; (iii) the Department should provide support for technical infrastructure costs for community TV;  (iv) Community TV must be enshrined in DTT. Community TV should be carried through a "must-carry obligation" on DTT. Government should carry the cost of CTV to be carried on multiplex 1 as an incentive channel during the dual illumination period; (v) CTV has requested urgent support from the Department to launch a community awareness campaign prior changing frequencies to avoid a crippling loss of viewers; (vi) government should allocate 30% of advertising revenue on community media; and (vii) the above provisions should only apply to genuine, non-profit community broadcasters under the advice of the MDDA.

 

3.14.9   Committee remarks

The Committee noted the recommendations of CTV and will continue to engage.

 

3.15      Sentech Regional Offices (Milnerton)

The Committee was welcomed by the Regional Manager, Mr Patrick Sikhosana.

 

3.15.1   Regional overview

Sentech regional office is situated in Cape Town, with four operation centres in Cape Town, George, Vredendal and Upington.  The structure has an acting head for the Eastern and Western region; one senior TCC Manager in Cape Town with 22 staff members, one TCC manager in Vredendal with nine staff members, George which has nine staff members, Upington with seven staff members; and one support services manager in the Western region with seven staff members.

 

3.15.2   Operations

Cape Town TCC provides services to the following clients: (i) Community Broadcasters: Fine music radio, Voice of the Cape, Cape TV, Radio 786, Radio Tygerberg, CCFM, Radio Weskus, Bush radio, Radio KC and Radio Helderberg; (ii) Regional Broadcasters: KFM, Heart FM, Radio Good Hope and Radio Algoa; (iii) BTV: Spur Group ( taste FM), Lewis group, Pick ‘n Pay ( fresh FM) and Clicks; and (iv) Facility Rental: Altech Netsar, Amobia Comms, ATNS, CellC, City of Cape Town, Digital mobile radio, Emergency medical services, Eskom, G7 renewable energies, Ibanza, IR Pope, Lazer Comms, MTN, Radio lady, RFG Comms, SA paramedics, SA Weather service, Safe security, SAPS, SANDF, Swiftnet, Telkom, Tracker, Transner, Vodacom, and WISPA

 

There are also current interventions which include expansion of network for Fine Music Radio and Heart Radio; expansion of coverage for Voice of the Cape and Radio West Coast; and currently mitigation of costs are being undertaken in respect of Cape TV.

 

3.15.3 Recommendations

The Committee noted that there is no task team in place, comprising of Sentech, ICASA and SABC as it was recommended on the previous oversights and recommends that a task team needs to be established as a matter of urgency.

 

3.16      ICASA Regional Offices (Cape Town)

The Committee was welcomed by the Regional Manager, Dr Mark Ramsay. However, the Committee could not meet with the staff on 8 February 2012 due to the fact that they were on industrial strike and met with them on 15 May 2012.

 

3.16.1   Overview of ICASA regional office

ICASA is governed by the ICASA Act, Electronic Communications Act (ECA), Interception and Monitoring Act and Postal Services Act. It is governed by a council, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and executive management. ICASA has its Head office in Sandton and has regional offices in Durban, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Bloemfontein, with staff varying between nine and 14 per region.

 

3.16.2 The Western Cape region is responsible for the following services:

3.16.2.1 Public Consumer Education: (i) Consumer Education offers report directly to the Head Office Consumer Division. The regions provide logistic support; (ii) All Consumer Complaints are logged in head office and attended to from there; (iii) visit schools and other institutions for public educational presentations and workshops; and (iv) take part in Community Radio talk shows relating to Consumer issues.

 

3.16.2.2 Postal Compliance: (i) postal inspectors report to Regional Managers; (ii) perform Retail Post Office inspections to verify licence condition compliance; (iii) perform postal depot inspections to verify compliance with licence conditions; (iv) receive and investigate postal consumer complaints; and (v) perform unreserved postal service inspections ( courier companies).

 

3.16.2.3 Licensing Compliance:  (i) activities by this section include process assigned and pre-assigned license applications; (ii) do radio dealer and alarm company audits; (iii) do type approval inspections; (iv) tracing and stealing of unlicensed equipment; (v) issue permits to have unlicensed equipment; (vi) perform data Integrity Verification to enhance data on the Spectrum system. Cospas-Sarsat system for beacon; (vii) issue MMSI ( Maritime mobile Service Identity) numbers for ships and EPIRBS ( Emergency position indication radio beacon); (viii) enter maritime certificate data into the Spectrum system; (ix) generate and prepare the RRT (Restricted radio telephone operators and GMDSS (Global system) certificates; and (x) certificates are in process of being handed to SAMSA.

 

3.16.2.4 Spectrum compliance: (i) receive and log interference complaints from licensees; (ii) do interference investigations; (iii) based on urgency and priority; (iv) trace/locate illegal radio users; (v) do high-site checks to verify license conditions; (vi) do new site commissioning; (vii) assisting SAPS with investigations; and (viii) RMA unit for mobile remote access.

 

3.16.2.5 Enforcement:  (i) type approval compliance checks; (ii) labelling compliance checks; (iii) enforcement of communication acts and regulations with respect to illegal users and equipment; (iv) initiate legal actions against perpetrator; (v) attend court as expert witnesses; and (vi) examples of illegal apparatus include a four channel blocker for large areas, a three channel blocker unit for small areas, bugging devices, GPS/tracker jammer that plugs into vehicle cigarette lighter socket and optical keyhole spy viewer with wireless screen

 

3.16.2.6 Involvements:  (i) Stakeholder relations include radio dealers such as Lazer Communications, Vertel Systems, IR Pope, all repeater system licensees; also Sentech, Telkom, SA Post Office, SAMSA, SA Police Service providers- Vodacom, etc; and (ii) the Cape Town office has been directly involved with development of databases catering for Interference, Licensing, MMSI numbers, Certification, Query logging, etc, assisting SAMSA in locating boat owners in cases of accidents at sea, assisting SAPS with identification and analyzing of radio apparatus seized at road blocks and assisting SA army to locate illegal installations on their remote sites.

3.16.3   Challenges

The following challenges were highlighted: (i) keeping up to date with new technologies through ongoing training for staff; (ii) having technology relevant test equipment; (iii) not having to borrow equipment from stakeholders to perform investigations; (iv) reaching the goal of envisaged 1-stop shop at regional level through automated systems; (v) ability for public to obtain information on the ICASA website in a user-friendly manner; (vi) improved credibility through increased visibility in media; and (vii) budget constraints.

 

3.16.4   Meeting with ICASA employees

3.16.4.1 Introduction

The meeting was attended by the following Members of Parliament; Mr SE Kholwane, Ms S Tsebe, Ms W Newhoudt-Druchen, Mr D Kekana and Ms R Morotua.

 

3.16.4.2 Support Staff:  Ms S Peer, Mr S Nene, Ms N Diya, Mr K Matlala, Ms R Davids and Mr F Deysel.  

 

3.16.4.3 Matters raised by employees: (i) no regional strategy for postal services and consumer awareness campaign, only one person responsible for postal inspection of 190 Post Offices, unreserved postal services and 200 courier companies in the Province; (ii) Peace Officer training for inspectors based on the ruling by a court in Nelson Mandela Bay; (iii) there is insufficient parking for the company vehicles fitted with monitoring equipment, and as a result, they use road side parking in Strand Street; (iv) there is no marketing and awareness strategy for ICASA, and as a result, before any field work inspection can be conducted, they have to educate people about who they are; (v) ICASA does not have the required monitoring equipment for network interferences, and therefore have to borrow it from mobile operators; (vi) the province is too vast and there are very few staff to cover it; (vii) although part of the reason to relocate the regional office was to make it accessible, the statistics prove otherwise especially on walk-in customers and the general public; (viii) management is reluctant to assess staff for performance and staff often have to push them; (ix) alleged undue interference by the Senior Managers on the inspection activities that are carried out in the Province; and (x) no continuous update or in-service training offered to keep the staff abreast of legislation, policies and regulation changes.

 

The Regional Manager responded that: (i) the relocation was on the advice of auditors so that the office could be accessible but conceded that the objective could not be achieved, and was in the process of looking for another office space that will suit their needs, (ii) there was a delay in the assessment of staff performance but this would be rectified, (iii) the peace officer training for inspectors was budgeted for in the 2012/2013 financial year, (iv) there was no marketing strategy for the province; and (v) the current legislation had limited the powers of inspectors to confiscate illegal goods or those not type approved.

 

The Committee noted the following recommendation by staff: (i) establishment of a unit that would be responsible for keeping them abreast on legislative, policy and regulation changes, (ii) the regional strategic plan and budget should encompass all divisions in the region, and (iii) increase of staff to have impact on their work.

 

3.16.5 Recommendations

 

The Committee noted that: (i) the relocation of the regional office was informed by the findings of the internal auditor on the security of its assets; however no proper due diligent work was done by management in relation to their requirement; (ii) the relocation process has created considerable suspicion among staff that this might have benefited individuals, and (iii) the regional mangers seem not to have much delegated powers to run the regions.

 

The Committee, therefore, recommends that: (i) the relocation process of the regional office should be investigated to deal with the suspicions, (ii) a comprehensive report on the impact of the legislation on the work of inspectors in particular powers to confiscate illegal equipment, should be compiled (iii) the delegation of powers to regions should be reviewed, and (iv) consultation with the employees should be undertaken as they are in the process of looking for another office space. In future ICASA must address the matter internally with all employees before any relocation is undertaken.

 

Having noted the issues raised by the employees in the region, the Committee further recommends that the Regional Manager should submit a detailed report on the lease agreement including a breakdown of rental costs inclusive of parking areas before 31 July 2012.

 

4.         Stakeholders meeting

The Committee concluded its oversight visit by holding roundtable discussions with representatives of the community media and the following issues were raised:

 

4.1        Financial sustainability

This was a challenge for both community print and broadcasting. The concern was around the attitude of advertising industry, towards the community media. The challenge is the improper statistical allocation of the Audit Bureau of Circulation for community print media and the allegedly incorrect listernship statistics by the South African Advertising and Research Foundation (SAARF) which has a huge impact on attracting advertisers.

 

4.2        Signal distribution

The community broadcasters indicated that the tariffs for signal distribution by Sentech were unaffordable and requested a review of the tariffs in line with the provision of the Electronic Communications Act (ECA).

 

4.3        Training and development

Whilst acknowledging the role played or continues to be played by MDDA, it was requested that the funding model of the MDDA should be reviewed so that more funds could be made available for training and development.

 

5.         Overall Recommendations

The Committee recommends: (i) an immediate establishment of the task team comprising Sentech, SABC, ICASA and the Department in the Western Cape to develop an integrated framework for rolling out low-power transmitters;  (ii) that Sentech should have a timeline on the finalisation of the tariffs review in line with the Electronic Communication Act; (iii) that SAPO should provide a timeline on the replacement of non-functioning PITs or an alternative model; (iv) that MDDA should develop a strategy on how community radio stations that experience continuous power failures will be assisted through the provision of alternative sources of energy; and (v) that the Minister in the Presidency: Performance Monitoring and Evaluation should consult with the National Treasury on the possibility of getting additional funding for the MDDA.

 

Report to be considered.

 

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THURSDAY, 5 JULY 2012

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

 

The Speaker and the Chairperson

 

1.         Draft Bill submitted in terms of Joint Rule 159

 

(1) Tourism Bill, 2012, submitted by the Minister of Tourism.

 

Referred to the Portfolio Committee on Tourism and the Select Committee on Trade and International Relations.

 

2.         Assent by President in respect of Bill

 

(1) Tax Administration Bill [B 11B – 2011] – Act No 28 of 2011 (assented to and signed by President on 2 July 2012).

 

National Assembly

 

The Speaker

1.         Dispatch of documents and information on arms procurement

 

(1)        Pursuant to the request of Mr Justice W L Seriti, Chairperson of the Commission of Inquiry into the Allegations of Fraud, Corruption, Impropriety, or Irregularity in the Strategic Defence Procurement (the Commission) (see ATC of 30 May 2012) the following documents and information have been submitted to the Commission on 15 June 2012 -

 

Annexure A: Documents and information generated by Parliament or its committees relating to the arms procurement

   a) ATCs related to the arms procurement;

   b) Minutes of the National Assembly and its committees;

   c) Notices and agendas of committee meetings;

   d) Letters;

   e) Memoranda;

   f) Invitations;

   g) Attendance list of committees;

   h) Applications and approvals of funds for trips, entertainment, refunds, etc;

   i) Adverts and submissions to Public Hearings;

   j) Procedural Developments in the National Assembly;

   k) Draft Reports of the Auditor General on Strategic Defence Package;

   l) Media statements; and

   m) DVDs.

 

Annexure B: Confidential Documents received from the Ministry of Defence and from the Armaments Corporation of SA Ltd

1.         From the Ministry of Defence (on 6 February 2001):

 

   A.      MINISTERIAL AND CABINET APPROVALS:

a) Special Ministerial Briefing dated 31 August 1998 - Minutes and Presentation.

b) Cabinet Presentation dated 21 October 1998 - Minutes and Presentation.

c) Cabinet Presentation dated 18 November 1998 - Government Communication and Information System Statement and Presentation.

d) Ministers Committee dated 20 January 1999 - Minutes and first report.

e) Ministers Committee dated 26 May 1999 - Minutes and third report "Defence and Countertrade Package Negotiations".

f) Ministers Committee dated 31 August 1999 - Minutes and Report containing macro-economic impact study.

g) Cabinet presentation dated 15 September 1999 - Cabinet minutes and Briefing documents.

h) Cabinet Decision dated 1 December 1999 - Cabinet minutes and Cabinet Memo 14/99.

 

B.         CONTRACT DATA PACK FOR HAWK/GRIPEN:

   a)  Hawk/Gripen National Industrial Participation Terms.

 

   C.      INDUSTRIAL PARTICIPATION CONTRACTS:

   a) Submarine National Industrial Participation Terms.

   b) Light Utility Helicopter National Industrial Participation Terms.

   c) CORVETTE National Industrial Participation Terms.

 

   D.      WARBURG DILLON READ MODEL - Total cost estimation.

 

E.         AFFORDABILITY STUDY (info to Cabinet Subcommittee) AND VARIOUS EXPLANATIONS TO QUESTIONS.

 

2.         From the Armaments Corporation of SA Ltd (on 6 February 2001):

a) Hawk/Gripen Umbrella Agreement - Contract No 1118/1.

b) Submarine Umbrella Agreement - Contract No 1119/1.

c) Light Utility Helicopter Umbrella Agreement - Contract No 1120/1.

d) Corvette Umbrella Agreement - Contract No 1121/1.

e) Hawk/Gripen Defence Industrial Participation Terms - Contract No 1118/3.

f) Submarine Defence Industrial Participation Terms - Contract No 1119/4.

g) Light Utility Helicopter Defence Industrial Participation Terms - Contract No 1120/4.

h) Corvette Defence Industrial Participation Terms - Contract No 1121/4.

 

3.         From the Ministry of Defence (on 22 May 2001):

   a) Submarine Supply Terms - Contract 1119/2 (69 pages).

   b) Light Utility Helicopter Supply Terms - Contract 1120/2 (55 pages).

   c) Corvette Supply Terms - Contract 1121/2 (111 pages).

   d) Gripen Supply Terms - Contract 1115/4 (114 pages and Annexes).

   e) Hawk Supply Terms – Contract 118/5 (110 pages and Annexes).

 

TABLINGS

 

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

 

1.         The Minister of Finance

 

(a)        Annual Financial Statements of the Corporation for Public Deposits for the year ended 31 March 2012.

 

COMMITTEE REPORTS

 

National Assembly

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THURSDAY, 12 JULY 2012

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

 

The Speaker and the Chairperson

 

1.         Classification of Bills by Joint Tagging Mechanism (JTM)

 

(1)        The JTM in terms of Joint Rule 160(6) classified the following Bills as section 75 Bills:

 

(a) Prevention and Combating of Torture of Persons Bill [B 21 – 2012] (National Assembly – sec 75).

 

(b) Higher Education and Training Laws Amendment Bill [B 23 – 2012] (National Assembly – sec 75).

 

(2) The JTM in terms of Joint Rule 160(6) classified the following Bill as a section 76 Bill:

 

(b) Further Education and Training Colleges Amendment Bill [B 24 – 2012] (National Assembly – sec 76).

 

National Assembly

 

The Speaker

 

1.         Request for filling of vacancy on MDDA board

 

(a) A letter dated 25 June 2012 has been received from the Minister in the Presidency: Performance Monitoring and Evaluation as well as Administration –

 

(i) informing the National Assembly that the term of office of the chairperson of the board, Ms G Msibi, will expire in December 2012; and

 

(ii) requesting the National Assembly to recommend a candidate in terms of section 4 of the Media Development and Diversity Agency Act, 2002 (Act No 14 of 2002) to fill the vacancy that will arise.

 

Referred to the Portfolio Committee on Communications for consideration and report.

 

TABLINGS

 

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

 

1. The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development

 

(a)        Second Report on the Implementation of the Child Justice Act, tabled in terms of section 96(3) of the Child Justice Act, 2008 (Act No 75 of 2008).

 

2.         The Minister of Trade and Industry

 

(a)        Government Notice No R.450 published in Government Gazette No 35436 dated 15 June 2012:  The introduction of the Compulsory specification for  live Aquacultured Abalone (VC 9001) in terms of the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications Act, 2008 (Act No 5 of 2008).

 

THURSDAY, 19 JULY 2012

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

 

The Speaker and the Chairperson

 

1.         Assent by President in respect of Bills

 

(1) Appropriation Bill [B 3 – 2012] – Act No 7 of 2012 (assented to and signed by President on 11 July 2012).

 

(2) Implementation of the Geneva Conventions Bill [B 10B – 2011] – Act No 8 of 2012 (assented to and signed by President on 12 July 2012).

National Assembly

 

The Speaker

 

1.         Referral to Committees of papers tabled

 

(1)        The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on Arts and Culture for consideration and report:

 

(a)        Strategic Plan of the Nelson Mandela Museum for 2012‑17 and Annual Performance Plan for 2012‑17.

 

(2)        The following paper is referred to the Standing Committee on Appropriations for consideration:

 

(a)        Submission of the recommendations of the Financial and Fiscal Commission on the Division of Revenue Bill for 2013-14, tabled in terms of section 9(1) of the Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations Act, 1997 (Act No 97 of 1997).

 

(3)        The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on Women, Children and People with Disabilities for consideration and to the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs:

 

(a)        Report of the Commission for Gender Equality: Gender and the Elections - Local Government Elections Report 2011.

(4)        The following papers are referred to the Standing Committee on Finance for consideration and report:

 

            Correction: Entries (a) and (b) below replace items 1(e) and (f) under Tablings in the name of the Minister of Finance on page 416 in the Announcements, Tablings and Committee Reports of 1 March 2012.

 

(a)        Agreement between the Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of Gibraltar for the exchange of information relating to tax matters, tabled in terms of section 231(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.

 

(b)        Explanatory Memorandum on the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of Gibraltar on the exchange of information relating to tax matters.

 

(c)        Annual Report of the Bank Supervision Department of the South African Reserve Bank for 2011.

 

(5)        The following papers are referred to the Standing Committee on Finance:

 

(a)        Government Notice No 309, published in Government Gazette No 35256, dated 13 April 2012: Allocations to metropolitan municipalities from general fuel levy revenue in terms of Item 3(2)(a) of Schedule 1 of the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2009 (Act No 17 of 2009).

 

(b)        Government Notice No R311, published in Government Gazette No 35259, dated 20 April 2012: Amendment of rules (DAR/103) in terms of sections 15 and 120 of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 (Act No 91 of 1964).

 

(c)        Government Notice No R350, published in Government Gazette No 35318, dated 4 May 2012: Provisional payment (PP/137) in relation to anti‑dumping duty imposed in terms of section 57A of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 (Act No 91 of 1964).

 

(d)        Government Notice No R375, published in Government Gazette No 35338, dated 18 May 2012: Amendment of Part 1 of Schedule No 1 (No 1/1/1140) in terms of section 48 of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 (Act No 91 of 1964).

 

(e)        Government Notice No R376, published in Government Gazette No 35338, dated 18 May 2012: Amendment of Part 1 of Schedule No 3 (No 3/1/681) in terms section 75 of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 (Act No 91 of 1964).

 

(f)         Government Notice No R377, published in Government Gazette No 35338, dated 18 May 2012: Amendment of Part 1 of Schedule No 3 (No 3/1/682) in terms of section 75 of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 (Act No 91 of 1964).

 

(g)        Government Notice No R378, published in Government Gazette No 35338, dated 18 May 2012: Correction notice: Amendment of Schedule No 3 (No 3/683) of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 (Act No 91 of 1964).

 

(h)        Government Notice No R379, published in Government Gazette No 35338, dated 18 May 2012: Correction notice: Amendment of Schedule No 3 (No 3/684) of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 (Act No 91 of 1964).

 

(i)         Government Notice No R380, published in Government Gazette No 35338, dated 18 May 2012: Correction notice: Amendment of Schedule No 5 (No 5/96) of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 (Act No 91 of 1964).

 

(j)         Government Notice No R400, published in Government Gazette No 35369, dated 25 May 2012: Correction notice: Amendment of Schedule No 5 (No 5/97) of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 (Act No 91 of 1964).

 

(k)        Government Notice No R433, published in Government Gazette No 35415, dated 8 June 2012: Amendment of Part 1 of Schedule No 1 (No 1/1/1441) in terms of section 48 of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 (Act No 91 of 1964).

 

(l)         Government Notice No 428, published in Government Gazette No 35403, dated 31 May 2012: Publication of allocations in terms of sections 8(3) and 15(1) of the Division of Revenue Act, 2012 (Act No 5 of 2012).

 

(6)        The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on Water and Environmental Affairs for consideration:

 

(a)        Letter from the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, dated 23 February 2012, to the Speaker of the National Assembly, explaining the delay in the tabling of the Botshelo Water Annual Report for 2010‑11.

 

(7)        The following papers are referred to the Portfolio Committee on Water and Environmental Affairs:

 

            (a)        General Notice No 233, published in Government Gazette No 35160, dated 19 March 2012: Public submissions on draft national norms and standards for the remediation of contaminated land and soil quality invited in terms of section 7(2)(d), read with section 73, of the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008 (Act No 59 of 2008).

 

            (b)        General Notice No 234, published in Government Gazette No 35161, dated 19 March 2012: Public comment on regulations for site assessments and reports invited in terms of section 69(1)(v) of the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008 (Act No 59 of 2008).

 

(c)        Government Notice No R99, published in Government Gazette No 35021, dated 8 February 2012: Regulations for the proper administration of nature reserves, made in terms section 86(1) of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 2003 (Act No 57 of 2003).

 

(d)        General Notice No 106, published in Government Gazette No 35020, dated 8 February 2012: Biodiversity Policy and Strategy for South Africa: Strategy on Buffer Zones for National Parks, published for general information in terms of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 2003 (Act No 57 of 2003).

 

(e)        General Notice No 104, published in Government Gazette No 35016, dated 6 February 2012: Public submissions on proposed regulations regarding fees for the provision of aviation meteorological services invited in terms of section 28(b), read with sections 4(2)(e) and 21(1)(b), of the South African Weather Services Act, 2001 (Act No 8 of 2001).

 

(f)         General Notice No 114, published in Government Gazette No 35031, dated 17 February 2012: Public comment on draft regulations to amend Schedule 3 invited in terms of section 47(1) of the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act No 107 of 1998).

 

(g)        Government Notice No R268, published in Government Gazette No 35203, dated 30 March 2012: Regulations regarding fees for the provision of aviation meteorological services, made in terms of section 28(b), read with sections 4(2)(e) and 21(1)(b), of the South African Weather Services Act, 2001 (Act No 8 of 2001).

 

(h)        Government Notice No R270, published in Government Gazette No 35206, dated 30 March 2012: Addressing challenges with waste service provision in South Africa: Municipal Waste Sector Plan, developed in terms of the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008 (Act No 59 of 2008).

 

(i)         Government Notice No 304, published in Government Gazette No 35248, dated 10 April 2012: Norms and standards for the marking of rhinoceros and rhinoceros horn and for the hunting of rhinoceros for trophy hunting purposes issued in terms of section 9 of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act No 10 of 2004).

 

(j)         General Notice No 840, published in Government Gazette No 34781, dated 25 November 2011: Public comment invited on draft National Environmental Management: Integrated Coastal Management Amendment Bill, 2011.

 

(k)        Government Notice No 344, published in Government Gazette No 35306, dated 4 May 2012: Establishment of National Waste Management Strategy in terms of section 6 of the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008 (Act No 59 of 2008).

 

(l)         General Notice No 382, published in Government Gazette No 35343, dated 14 May 2012: Prohibition of trade in certain Encephalartos (cycad) species in terms of section 57(2), read with section 100, of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act No 10 of 2004).

 

(m)       Government Notice No 371, published in Government Gazette No 35344, dated 14 May 2012: Prohibition of restricted activities involving certain listed and threatened Encephalartos (cycad) species in terms of section 57(2) of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act No 10 of 2004).

 

(n)        General Notice No 395, published in Government Gazette No 35337, dated 18 May 2012: Fee structures for consideration and processing of applications for environmental authorisations prescribed in terms of sections 24(5)(c) and 44, read with section 47, of the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act No 107 of 1998).

 

            (o)        General Notice No 396, published in Government Gazette No 35337, dated 18 May 2012: Fee structure for consideration and processing of applications for waste management licences prescribed in terms of sections 45(2), 52(4)(a), 55(3)(a) and 69(1)(dd), read with section 73, of the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 2008 (Act No 59 of 2008).

 

(p)        General Notice No 867, published in Government Gazette No 34811, dated 9 December 2011: Public comment on draft national action list for the screening of dredged material proposed for marine disposal invited in terms of section 73 of the National Environmental Management Integrated Coastal Management Act, 2008 (Act No 24 of 2008).

 

(q)        General Notice No 1002, published in Government Gazette No 34809, dated 9 December 2011: National list of ecosystems that are threatened and in need of protection published in terms of section 52(1)(a) of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act No 10 of 2004).

 

(8) The following papers are referred to the Standing Committee on Appropriations for consideration:

 

(a)        Mid-term Review Report of the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation in The Presidency – March 2012.

(b)        Development Indicators 2011: Report of the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation in The Presidency.

 

(9)        The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on Rural Development and Land Reform for consideration and report:

 

(a)        Report and Financial Statements of the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights for 2011-12 [RP154-2012]

 

(10)       The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on Labour for consideration and report:

 

         (a)           Strategic Plan of Productivity SA for 2012-13.

 

(11)       The following paper is referred to the Standing Committee on Finance for consideration:

 

(a)        Report No 1 of 2012-13 of the Public Protector on an investigation into the alleged improper procurement of communication services by the Department of the Premier of the Western Cape Provincial Government.

 

(12)       The following papers are referred to the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs for consideration and report:

 

(a)        Report of the Public Service Commission (PSC) on the Assessment of the State of Professional Ethics in the North West Provincial Government – September 2011 [RP12-2012].

 

(b)        Report of the Public Service Commission (PSC) on Measuring the Effectiveness of the National Anti-Corruption Hotline: Third Biennial Report – June 2011 [RP269‑2011].

 

(13)       The following papers are referred to the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry:

 

(a)        Government Notice No R362, published in Government Gazette No 35327, dated 10 May 2012: Debt Counselling Regulations 2012, made in terms of section 171 of the National Credit Act, 2005 (Act No 34 of 2005).

 

(b)        General Notice No 379, published in Government Gazette No 35328, dated 10 May 2012: Notice of intention to prevent South African traders from incorrectly labelling products originating from Occupied Palestinian Territory as originating in Israel in terms of section 24 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2008 (Act No 68 of 2008).

 

(c)        Government Notice No R385, published in Government Gazette No 35348, dated 15 May 2012: Draft amendments to the National Gambling Regulations 2004 (Recertification of gambling machines), made in terms of section 87 of the National Gambling Act, 2004 (Act No 7 of 2004).

 

(d)        Government Notice No R386, published in Government Gazette No 35349, dated 15 May 2012: Amendment of regulations on gambling advertising and the exclusions register, made in terms of section 87 of the National Gambling Act, 2004 (Act No 7 of 2004).

 

(e)        Government Notice No R384, published in Government Gazette No 35338, dated 18 May 2012: Amendments to Part II of the Trade Metrology Regulations of 18 November 1977, as amended, in terms of section 42 of the Trade Metrology Act, 1973 (Act No 77 of 1973).

 

(f)         General Notice No 450, published in Government Gazette No 35400, dated 1 June 2012: Property Sector Code of Good Practice on Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment, issued in terms of section 9(1) of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act, 2003 (Act No 53 of 2003).

 

(g)        General Notice No 485, published in Government Gazette No 35423, dated 6 June 2012: Information and Communication Technology Sector Code of Good Practice on Broad‑Based Black Economic Empowerment, issued in terms of section 9(1) of the Broad‑Based Black Economic Empowerment Act, 2003 (Act No 53 of 2003).

 

(14)       The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry and to the Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements:

 

(a)        Proclamation No 32, published in Government Gazette No 35358, dated 17 May 2012: Transfer of the administration, powers and functions entrusted by the Estate Agency Affairs Act, 1976 (Act No 112 of 1976) from the Minister of Trade and Industry to the Minister of Human Settlements in terms of section 97 of the Constitution.

TABLINGS

 

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

 

1.         The Speaker and the Chairperson

 

(a)        2011 Annual Report to the United Nations by the National Conventional  Arms Control Committee (NCACC), tabled in terms of section 23(1)(a) of the National Conventional Arms Control Act, 2002 (Act No 41 of 2002).

 

Referred to the Joint Standing Committee on Defence.

 

2.         The Minister of Communications

 

(a)        Revised Strategic Plan and Corporate Plan of the South African Broadcasting Corporation for 2012 - 2015.

 

3.         The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development

 

(a)        Strategic Plan of the Council for Debt Collectors for 2012.

 

4.         The Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs

 

(a)        Agreement between the Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho on the Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, tabled in terms of section 231(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.

 

(b)        Explanatory Memorandum to the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho on the Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project.

 

COMMITTEE REPORTS

 

National Assembly

 

1. REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON PULIC ENTERPRISES ON ITS STRATEGIC PLANNING WORKSHOP, DATED 12 JUNE 2012

 

1.         Background

The President of the Republic of South Africa unveiled a massive infrastructure investment plan during the State of the Nation Address (SONA). The President identified state-owned companies (SOCs) such as Transnet and Eskom to play a critical role in the implementation of the infrastructure programme.  Through the infrastructure programme, government’s objective is to improve the socio-economic conditions of society through job creation, skills development, rural development, local manufacturing and beneficiation.  

 

2.         Introduction

 

The Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises, as the legislative arm of the state entrusted with the oversight responsibility over the executive, convened its strategic planning workshop from the 23 – 24 February 2012 at Villa Via, Gordons Bay. The purpose of the workshop was to (1) do a mid-term review of the work of the Portfolio Committee; (2) assess the performance of the Department of Public Enterprises and its entities; (3) develop priorities for the oversight and accountability work of the Committee; and (4) develop a plan for the 2012/13 and 2013/14 years. The Committee was briefed by the Department of Public Enterprises on its strategic plan and priorities for the remaining years of the political term.

 

3.         Presentation by Department of Public Enterprises

 

In the presentation, the Director-General gave a brief overview of the vision, performance of the Department, challenges, priorities and how the Portfolio Committee could assist the Department in achieving its goals.

 

3.1 Vision of the Department

The vision of the Department has been changed to align it with national economic strategy which is “to drive investment, productivity and transformation in its portfolio of State Owned Companies (SOC), their customers and their suppliers to unlock growth, drive industrialisation, create jobs and develop skills”.

 

3.2 Outcome six: An Efficient, Competitive and Responsive Economic Infrastructure Network

 

The Department is focused on achieving the outputs and sub-outputs linked to outcome six and those contained in the Minister’s Service Delivery Agreement.  These are:

3.2.1     Improving the delivery and maintenance of infrastructure and monitoring the rollout of Transnet’s and Eskom’s build programmes;

3.2.2     Achieving policy and regulatory clarity in sectors in which the state-owned            companies operate;

3.2.3     Improving the operational efficiencies of the state-owned enterprises, particularly in relation to the reliable delivery of rail and port services and the reliable generation, distribution and transmission of electricity; and

3.2.4     Developing operational indicators for each of the required sub-outputs identified as part of the delivery agreement. Where necessary, these will be included in the Shareholder Compacts concluded between the Boards of the SOCs and the Minister.

 

3.3        Performance of Department in relation to outcome six

This is how the Department has performed in relation to outcome six:

 

3.3.1     Improving competition and regulation

* Work on the Rail Policy and Rail Act has progressed to the finalisation of a draft green paper, now under industry stakeholder consultation.

* A Private Sector Participation (PSP) framework has been developed to address private sector participation in rail.

           

3.3.2     Generation, distribution and transmission of energy

* Legislation for the creation of an Independent Electricity System and Market Operator (ISMO) was introduced in Parliament by the Department of Energy and it is expected to be promulgated during 2012.

* Following the Minister’s directive, Eskom has ring-fenced the System and Market Operator (SMO) unit. The implementation plan to establish the SMO as a subsidiary is being finalised.

* Approximately 248 000 households were electrified during the period from November 2010 to November 2011, and 3 655 homes were connected to off-grid solar systems.

 

      Eskom build programme (as end of 2011)

• Medupi is 35% complete, with 56.9% of the budget having being spent.

• Kusile is 17% complete, with 30% of the budget having being spent.

• Ingula is 41% complete, with 54.3% of the budget having being spent.

• The Return to Service programme is 93.5% complete, with 89% of the budget having being spent.

• Transmission projects are more than 70% complete, with 70.4% of the budget having being spent.

 

Regarding the development and implementation of Coal Haulage Road-to-Rail Logistics for Eskom’s fleet of coal-fired power stations, a Cooperation Agreement between Eskom and Transnet was signed by both parties in November 2011. The resulting Haulage Agreement details the routes and sources of coal to be transported to Eskom powers stations.

 

3.3.3     Logistics: road, rail and ports

• With regard to increasing the market share of total freight from a 177 mtpa baseline to rail to an annualised 250 mtpa by 2014, 178 mt was achieved in 2010/11. Up to December 2011, 148mt was recorded and Transnet is on track to achieve 206mt by the end of the 2011/12 financial year.

* With regard to productivity improvements at the Durban container terminal (DCT), an average of 24.8 crane moves per hour was achieved in 2010/11 from 21 crane moves per hour in 2009/10, in line with the target of 25 crane moves per hour for that year.

* Transnet’s build projects are generally on track. Two container berths at the Ngqura port have been completed and an additional two will be completed by March 2012. A total of 875 000 containers have been handled at Ngqura since it opened in October 2009, and the additional two berths will improve capacity to 800 000 containers per annum.

* The National Multi Products Pipeline (NMPP) 24 inch trunk line for petroleum products from Durban to Jameson Park was commissioned and completed in January 2012.

* Three rail branchline opportunities for private sector concession in 2012/13 have been identified and there has been consultation with KwaZulu-Natal, Northern Cape, and

    Free State provinces in this regard.

 

3.3.4     Information and communication technology

* Following the establishment of Broadband Infraco, wholesale broadband prices have dropped by about 73%.

* As part of its mandate to increase access to broadband services, Broadband Infraco has access to 18 Points of Presence (POPs), of which 5 are open access sites in the main centres.

* Sentech and Broadband Infraco have also commenced with the Broadband Plan for the Kwazulu-Natal province pilot project, and site surveys on three districts are complete.

 

3.4        Key challenges facing the Department

The challenges included the following:

3.4.1     The current prioritisation of infrastructure expansion for growth and employment creation and the role of the Department’s SOCs, especially the infrastructure SOCs (Eskom, Transnet and Broadband Infraco), will challenge and shape the future trajectory of the Department.

3.4.2     The Department has the capacity challenge to oversee the investment programmes and its intended impacts, i.e. industrialisation, job creation, skills development, etc both from a shareholder perspective as well as from an SOC performance perspective.

3.4.3     Legislative framework supportive of the Department’s specific shareholder mandate/role requires clarification.

3.4.4     Challenges with skills attraction and retention.

3.4.5     Budgetary constraints.

3.4.6     Interdepartmental co-ordination and alignment of mandates of SOC require strengthening.

3.4.7     Evolution of the Department will be informed by the President Review Committee on State Owned Companies (PRC).

 

3.5        Priorities of the Department

The priorities of the Department are informed by the State of the Nation Address which pronounced on the infrastructure development programme and its impact on job  creation, skills development, localisation, Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment, industrialisation and regional integration. Furthermore, the Department will focus on the electricity price path, electricity conservation and the green economy.

 

3.6        Assistance from Portfolio Committee

The Department requested the Portfolio Committee to assist to deliver its mandate by:

3.6.1     Adequate notice for presentations and briefings in order to assist with proper planning and execution of functions and duties. This will assist the Department with efficient use of resources, given current constraints.

3.6.2     Clear and specific requirements for reporting will result in improved preparation and a common understanding of expectations.

3.6.3     Assist the Department to secure additional funding for its operations.

3.6.4     Participation and engagement in the Department’s annual Parliamentary Learning

Programme to provide insight into the sector and key issues of relevance to the Committee.

3.6.5     Engaging counterpart committees and departments that are critical to the NCOP.

3.6.6   Securing a conducive policy and regulatory environment for SOCs.

3.6.7     Regular engagement on issues of mutual interest affecting the SOC.

 

4.         Review of the Portfolio Committee’s performance

In planning for the remainder of the term, the Portfolio Committee undertook a review of how it has executed its oversight and accountability mandate, and whether it was efficient and effective. Most importantly, it assessed whether it implemented resolutions taken, and whether proper follow up was done to ensure their positive conclusion. The Committee made the following observations:

 

4.1        Shortcomings of the Committee

4.1.1     The Committee identified time as a constraint to follow through the implementation of      resolutions and the lack of a resolution-tracking mechanism.

4.1.2     Over-concentration on the major entities and neglect of the smaller entities.

4.1.3     Lack of timeous notification on changes and developments in state-owned companies.

4.1.4     Inadequate robust oversight visits to state-owned companies and the Department.

 

4.2        Priorities for the Committee

In line with the strategic focus of the state with regard to the economic development, the Committee identified key priorities that SOCs will have to report on in the remainder of the 4th Parliament. These include job creation, skills development, rural development, beneficiation, promotion of local manufacturing and small businesses and the impact of SOCs on the communities. 

 

4.3        Focus areas for each SOC

In addition, the Committee identified all the outstanding challenges facing state-owned companies, and would intervene and monitor to ensure their positive conclusion.

 

The areas identified for each entity are as follows:

 

4.3.1     South African Airways

The Committee will monitor the financial position of the entity, route expansion programme, the R1.6 billion guarantee, the Airbus deal and investigate high airport taxes, the performance bonus system and the hedging practice.

 

4.3.2     South African Express Airways

The Committee will monitor the forensic investigation, ensure action against external auditors, investigate the relationship between SA Airlink and SAA, monitor the performance of the board, and ensure external auditors and audit committees are effective and accountable.

4.3.3     Transnet

The Committee will ensure that Transnet improves financial management systems to eradicate fruitless, wasteful and irregular expenditure, follow up on the R8.5 billion irregular expenditure, monitor the implementation of the TSDBF resolution, monitor the infrastructure development programme (including PE tank farms and storage facitilities), and ensure that the entity has the capacity to deliver and that the development contributes to the priorities of the state.

 

4.3.4     Safcol

The Committee will ensure that a decision is taken on future role of Safcol, it will advocate for the funding shortfall for training of staff, follow up on oversight resolutions and that they are implemented, ensure that land claims are resolved speedily, and that the entity expands its social responsibility by ensuring beneficiation and improving the lives of the adjacent communities.

 

4.3.5     Eskom

The Committee will monitor and await the outcome of the SIU investigation, monitor the high electricity tariffs, ensure compliance of subcontractors, monitor the introduction of IPPs and renewable energy, monitor the negotiated contracts with smelters, ensure that Eskom has the capacity to deliver, monitor security of supply, and that Eskom projects promote localisation, beneficiation, jobs and skills development.

 

4.3.6     Alexkor

The Committee will monitor financial management systems in Alexkor, Alexkor Development Foundation and Namda, ensure sound corporate governance practices, and monitor mining production at sea for the productivity of the entity.

 

4.3.7     PBMR

The Committee will monitor and ensure that the registration of intellectual property is with the state, and will ensure that the  Department reports on progress of care and maintenance of the entity. 

 

4.3.8     Infraco

The Committee will ensure that there clarity on the public mandate of the entity, address the concern on the structure of points of presence, monitor progress on the turnaround strategy, look at the relations between Infraco with Sentech and follow up with the issuing of ECS licence to the entity.

 

4.3.9     Denel

The Committee will monitor the recapitalisation of Denel Aerostructures, seek clarity from the Department of Defence and Military Veterans (DoDMV) on what is sovereign and strategic for defence, and the streamlining of procurement between DoDMV and Denel.

 

4.3.10   Department of Public Enterprises

The Committee will seek clarity on the future role of the Department, look at legislation impacting on the mandate of the Department and SOCs, monitor the oversight function of the Department, monitor the departmental premises (suitability), await the remunerations report with recommendations, and look at the capacity constraints and skills shortage in the Department.

 

5.         Oversight and accountability mechanisms

 

The Portfolio Committee will use the following mechanisms to improve its oversight and accountability functions:

 

5.1        Entities will send quarterly reports on progress regarding turnaround strategies, financial and performance reports and reports on any other matter of interest to the Committee.

5.2        The Committee will ensure regular interaction with communities and stakeholders such     as unions and interest groups on matters of interest to the public.

5.3        The Committee will undertake robust oversight visits to state-owned companies to           ensure that they deliver on their mandates and improve the lives of communities.

5.4        The Committee will use the legislative processes in Parliament to improve its oversight    and ensure compliance with relevant legislative frameworks across all SOCs (BRRR, budget vote and strategic plans, annual reports, section 32 reports).

 

6.         Conclusion

 

The Committee acknowledged that the outcomes of the Presidential Review Committee on SOCs will have an impact on the role, structure and alignment of state-owned companies and will give clarity to policy and legislative challenges facing state-owned companies. However it would ensure that SOCs deliver on their public mandate and contribute towards the developmental objectives of government.

 

2. TENTH REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC ACCOUNTS ON THE REPORT OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL ON THE ANNUAL REPORTS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH FOR THE 2010/11 FINANCIAL YEAR, DATED 23 MAY 2012.

  

1. Introduction

 

The Committee on Public Accounts (the Committee) heard evidence on and considered the    content of the Annual Report and the Report of the Auditor-General on the 2010/11 financial statements of the Department of Health. The Committee noted the qualified audit opinion, highlighted areas which required the attention of the Accounting Authority, and reports as follows:

 

2. Movable tangible capital assets

 

The Auditor-General identified the following:

 

a) Movable tangible capital assets as disclosed in note 29 to the financial statements at an amount of R130 111 000 and minor assets are disclosed in note 29.4 to the financial statements at an amount of R34 402 000. The asset register was undertaken in July 2011 to bar-code all assets and confirm the physical asset count with  the assets register; and

b) Adequate audit assurance was not obtained relating to the valuation and allocation of assets as disclosed in the disclosure notes.There were no satisfactory alternative procedure that could be performed.

 

The Committee recommends that the Accounting Officers ensures the following:

a)         Appropriate reconciliations are performed to confirm the accuracy of the matching of   physical assets with assets that existed in the 2009/10 asset register; and

b)         Assets are counted on a monthly basis.

 

3. Restatement of comparative figures

The Auditor-General identified that:

 

a)         The comparative figures operating the lease of expenditure for buildings and other fixed structures  for the year ended 31 March 2010 have been restated with an amount of R146 683 000 as a result of no lease commitment provision made in the previous year. This was corrected in the 2010/11 financial statements of the Department.

 

The Committee recommends that the Accounting Officer ensures the following:

 

a)         All amendments to financial statements and information are effected before the annual audit commences.

 

4.         Irregular expenditure

 

The Auditor-General identified the following:

 

As disclosed in note 23 to the financial statements, irregular expenditure to the amount of R43 274 000 (2010: R13 639 000) was incurred, as proper supply chain management processes were not followed.

 

The Committee recommends that the Accounting Officer ensures the following:

 

a)         Officials follow the Supply Chain Management processes when they procure goods and  services so as to avoid recurrence of irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure; and

b)         Disciplinary action is taken against employees who were responsible for incurring such irregular expenditure as required by Section 51 (e) (iii) of the Public Finance Management Act.

5.         Procurement and contract management

 

The Auditor- General identified that:

 

In certain instances, goods and services with a transaction value of between R10 000 and R500 000 were procured without  inviting at least three written quotations from the prospective suppliers as per the requirements of Treasury Regulation 16A6.1 and National Treasury Practice Note 8 of 2007/08.

 

The Committee recommends that that Accounting Authority ensures the following:

 

a) Adequate training on policies and procedures is provided to all officials;

b) Compliance is monitored by relevant supervisors regularly; and

c) Disciplinary action be taken against officials who were found guilty contravening the Treasury Regulation 16A6.1 and National Treasury Practice Note 8 of 2007/8.

 

6.         onditional grant

 

The Auditor-General identified that:

The transferrring National Department did not adequately monitor expenditure and non-financial performance information on programmes funded by the allocation, as per the requirements of section 9 (1) (b)(i) of the Division of Revenue Act.

 

The Committee recommends that the Accounting Officer ensures the following:

 

a) The Provincial and National Departments monitor the financial and non-financial information as required by the Division of Revenue Act and grant frameworks;

b) Appropriate disciplinary actions is taken against officials who were responsible for non compliance with the Division of Revenue Act and grant frameworks; and

c) Monies that have not been used in accordance with what they were intended for should be refunded to the national fiscus by the said Provincial Departments.

 

7.         onclusion

 

The Committee recommends that the Executive Authority submits a progress report on all the above recommendations to the National Assembly within 60 days after the adoption of this Report by the House.

 

The Committee further recommends that the Accounting Authority submits quarterly reports on all the above-mentioned recommendations.

 

Report to be considered.

 

3. ELEVENTH REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC ACCOUNTS ON THE REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS ON THE ANNUAL REPORTS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF THE NATIONAL HEALTH LABORATORY SERVICES FOR THE 2010/11 FINANCIAL YEAR, DATED 23 MAY 2012

 

1. Introduction

 

The Committee on Public Accounts (the Committee) heard evidence on and considered the content of the Annual Report and the Report of the Independent Auditors on the 2010/11 financial statements of the National Health Laboratory Services. The Committee noted the unqualified audit opinion, highlighted areas which required the attention of the Accounting Authority, and reports as follows:

 

2. Compliance with laws and regulations

 

The Independent Auditors identified the following:

 

a) The Accounting Authority did not submit the proposed strategic plan to the executive   authority for approval at least 6 months before the start of the financial year of the designated department, or another time period as agreed to between the executive authority and the public entity in contravention with the requirements of Treasury Regulations 30.1.1;

b) Contrary to the requirements of Treasury Regulations 8.2.3, payments due to creditors were not made within 30 days from receipt of invoice;

c) The Accounting Authority did not establish procedures for quarterly reporting to the executive authority in order to facilitate effective performance monitoring, evaluation and corrective action as required by Treasury Regulations 30.2.1; and

d) The entity did not have a fully constituted board of directors as a result of certain vacant  positions stipulated in section 7 of the National Health Laboratory Services  Act No. 37 of 2000.

 

The Committee recommends that the Accounting Authority ensures the following:

 

a) The entity comply with the relevant Treasury Regulations and ensures that the strategic plan is  prepared and approved by the Board at least 6 months before the start of the financial year but not later than 1 April of each year;

b) Management seeks representation from the relevant constituencies so that adequate members of the board are appointed;

c) Procedures be established to guarantee that quarterly reports incorporate actual progress and performance relating to all objectives as per the Strategic and Annual Plan of the National Health Laboratory Services; and

d) All invoices are paid timeously within 30 days from receipt of invoice.

 

3. Financial and performance management

 

The Independent Auditors identified the following:

 

a) The financial statements and performance information were subject to material amendments; and

b) Pertinent information was not identified and captured in a form and time frame to support performance reporting.

 

The Committee recommends that the Accounting Authority ensures that:

 

a)         Financial statements are reviewed by appropriate delegated officials prior to them being submitted for audit so as to comply with the Public Finance Management Act and Treasury Regulations; and

b)         The process for financial reporting be reviewed.

4.Conclusion

 

The Committee urges the entity to find possible interventions to collect the debts owed to them by the provincial Departments of Health.

 

The Committee recommends that the Executive Authority submits a progress report on all the above recommendations to the National Assembly within 60 days after the adoption of this Report by the House.

 

The Committee further recommends that the Accounting Authority submits quarterly reports on all the above-mentioned recommendations.

 

   Report to be considered.

 

4. TWELFTH REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC ACCOUNTS ON THE REPORT OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL ON THE ANNUAL REPORTS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF THE COUNCIL FOR MEDICAL SCHEMES FOR THE 2010/11 FINANCIAL YEAR, DATED 23 MAY 2012

 

1. Introduction

 

The Committee on Public Accounts (the Committee) heard evidence on and considered the content of the Annual Report and the Report of the Auditor-General on the 2010/11 financial statements of the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS).The Committee noted the unqualified audit opinion, highlighted areas which required the attention of the Accounting Authority, and reports as follows:

2. Compliance with laws and regulations

 

The Auditor-General identified the following:

 

a) The strategic plan of the entity was only prepared for one year and did not cover a three year period as required by Treasury Reglation (TR) 30.1.3;

b) The financial statements submitted for audit did not comply with section 40(1)(c) (i) of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA). Material mistatements were identified during the audit; and

c) Goods and services with transactions value of over R500 000 were not procured by means of a competitive bidding process as required by section 51 (1)(b) of the PFMA.

 

The Committee recommends that the Accounting Authority ensures the following:

a) Competent people who understands the requirements of the Public Finance Management Act and the preparation of the strategic plan be employed; and

b) Responsible managers who fail to comply with the requirements of the Public Finance Management Act be held accountable.

 

3. Leadership

 

The Auditor-General identified that:

a)         Policies and procedures were not developed and implemented to support the recording and   reporting of performance against predetermined objectives.

 

The Committee recommends that the Accounting Authority ensures that:

a)         Policies and procedures for reporting performance information are developed, approved and implemented.

 

4.  Financial and performance management

 

The Auditor-General identified the following:

a) Internal controls were not adequately designed and implemented to support the reporting of predetermined objectives; and

b) Internal controls in place were not adequate to prevent and detect irregular expenditure.

 

The Committee recommends that the Accounting Authority ensures that:

a) Complete, accurate and valid reporting against predetermined objectives be available for audit purposes; and

b) Management develops and approves policies and procedures for reporting on performance information.

 

5. Supply Chain Management

 

The Auditor-General identified the following:

 

a) The entity did not meet all the requirements for effective procurement and contract management as well as controls to ensure a fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost effective supply chain management (SCM) that prevents and detects fraud, non-performance by suppliers and non-compliance with SCM legislation; and

b) Payments of R3 472 451 were made without following a competitive bidding process or sourcing three quotations.

 

The Committee recommends that the Accounting Authority ensures the following:

 

a) The Departmental Supply Chain Management Policy be updated to encompass all the elements of the Public Finance Management Act, Treasury Regulations, Preferential Procurement Framework Act, Preferential Procurement Regulations and Supply Chain Management Policy practice notes issued by the National Treasury that will ensure an appropriate procurement and provisioning system which is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost effective; and

b) Internal audit scope with regards to Supply Chain Management Policy be increased to ensure that day to day controls are effectively implemented and all procurement comply with Supply Chain Management Policy legislative requirements.

 

6.         Conclusion

 

The Committee recommends that the Executive Authority submits a progress report on all the above recommendations to the National Assembly within 60 working days after the adoption of this Report by the House.

 

The Committee further recommends that the Accounting Authority submits quarterly reports on all the above-mentioned recommendations.

 

Report to be considered.

 

5. THIRTEENTH REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC ACCOUNTS ON THE REPORT OF THE AUDITOR-GENERAL OF SOUTH AFRICA ON THE PERFORMANCE AUDIT OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE DELIVERY PROCESS AT PROVINCIAL DEPARTMENTS OF BASIC EDUCATION, DATED 23 MAY 2012

 

1. Background

 

The Auditor-General South Africa (the Auditor-General) conducted performance audits of the infrastructure delivery process at the Departments of Health and Basic Education as part of a transversal performance audit on infrastructure delivery.

 

The transversal report was tabled in Parliament on the 6th September 2011. The provinces’ specific reports were tabled in their respective provincial legislatures.

 

2. Findings and recommendations

 

The Committee on Public Accounts (the Committee) heard and considered evidence on the 21 November 2011 from Members of Executive Councils (MECs) of Basic Education, Finance and Provincial Heads of Departments from the following provinces:

 

* Eastern Cape;

* Free State;

* KwaZulu-Natal;

* Limpopo;

* Mpumalanga;

* Western Cape;

* Gauteng;

* North West; and

* Northern Cape.

 

The report will address the four phases of infrastructure delivery.

 

2.1 Demand management

 

The Auditor-General identified the following:

 

a) The needs determination, planning and prioritising for the infrastructure projects were not completed on time. The needs were identified up to 13 years prior to the acquisition of resources through tenders’ being awarded. The planning phases of projects were also delayed due to: 

* Lack of capacity and qualified staff at Provincial Departments and implementing agents to ensure that comprehensive planning takes place timeously;

* Insufficient project information at the identification stage of projects to ensure that realistic values were allocated on infrastructure budgets;

* Some needs not being included in the initial planning which resulted in scope changes;

b) The designs for infrastructure projects were not done on time and, in some instances the design period was longer than the construction period. Standard plans were not always used and design costs were duplicated as similar infrastructure facilities were designed individually; and

c) The communication and coordination between departments, management, local authorities and /or communities were ineffective to ensure comprehensive infrastructure delivery, as all the role-players did not engage properly during the planning of the projects. Service delivery was negatively affected as the projects were put on hold or were delayed due to scope changes. Furthermore, the projects were relocated from one site to another or new structures were demolished as buildings were erected on inappropriate sites.

 

The Committee recommends that the Accounting Officer of the National Department of Basic Education ensures the following: 

 

a) A specific policy that deals comprehensively with the infrastructure delivery process and guidelines be developed and implemented as a matter of urgency and it should address the following:

* Roles and responsibilities of the National Department, Provincial Departments and implementing agents are defined clearly;

* The process and information to be used to facilitate the needs determination that indicates how to interpret and validate statistical information and demographic trends;

* Stakeholder interaction and consultation with community organisations, governing bodies and local authorities is conducted;

b) Proper planning is done to determine budget availability for planned infrastructure projects taking into consideration escalation costs; and

c) A formal prioritisation model to facilitate needs analysis to guarantee that urgent needs are given priority.

 

2.2 Acquisition management

 

The Auditor-General raised specific concerns on the following:

a) The appointment of contractors and consultants involved in infrastructure projects were delayed, as in some instances, the bid evaluation process took longer to complete than the validity period of the bids;

b) The process was not always cost-effective as the Bid Evaluation Committees and the Bid Adjudication Committees did not consider the prescribed procurement legislation and regulations properly in evaluating, scoring and making recommendations to the Accounting Officer regarding awarding bids. This contributed to contracts being awarded to contractors that did not have the skills and capacity to execute these projects;

c) Procurement legislation, regulations and practice notes were contravened in approximately 47% of the projects audited. Where possible irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure was identified, the Accounting Officer was requested to investigate the matter and institute action as required by the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA);

d) In Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga, the Bid Evaluation Committees disqualified bids based on the bidding prices of prospective suppliers being too low or too high compared to a predetermined estimate. In Limpopo, this practice was followed throughout as a standard working method. These bids were excluded from the evaluation process, despite the specific prohibition of this practice in supply chain management practice notes issued by National Treasury;

e) The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) was established to   promote and develop a framework for the construction industry to regulate the actions, practices and procedures of parties engaged in construction contracts. The Construction Industry Development Board grades contractors according to a certain criteria and the grading is indicative of the contractor’s ability to complete a certain volume of construction work. In the public sector, it is a contravention of the Construction Industry Development Board Act to appoint a contractor that is not registered, or is not registered at the correct grading. Bid Evaluation Committees did not consult the Construction Industry Development Board register to confirm the registration and grading of the bidders during the evaluation process. Contracts to the value of approximately R669,5 million were awarded to contractors for the construction and/or renovation of schools while the contractors were either not registered with the Construction Industry Development Board or were registered, but held a grading lower than required;

f) The procurement legislation and regulations prescribe a process to be followed during the appointment of contractors to ensure that the process is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost effective. In Eastern Cape and Limpopo, tenders for the appointment of contractors were either not advertised in at least the Government Tender Bulletin or not advertised for a minimum of 21 days to promote a competitive bidding process. As a result, a small number of prospective suppliers submitted bids;

g) During the bid evaluation process, bids are scored to indicate the most appropriate contractor to execute the project. In the Free State, Limpopo and Western Cape provinces, contracts were awarded to contractors other than those that scored the highest number of points during the evaluation of bids. In some instances, the Bid Evaluation Committee calculated the points for certain criteria incorrectly during evaluation;

h) Bid Evaluation Committees did not sufficiently consider and verify the financial viability, available resources, capacity, ability and experience of the contractors during the appointment process. Furthermore, the Construction Industry Development Board grading was also not always used as an indicator of their ability to complete multiple contracts simultaneously;

i) The capacity of consultants to execute numerous projects simultaneously was not     considered in the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and North West provinces before awarding projects. In these Provinces, managing consultants were appointed without following the procurement prescripts and multiple contracts were awarded without considering their capacity to manage the volume of work allocated to them successfully;

j) Surety can be used to cover losses incurred later in the project due to a default on the part of the contractor. Before a contractor begins the execution of the contract, it must provide the Department with a performance surety of the amount specified in the special conditions of the contract. Providing surety on time is a suspensive condition and the Department can terminate the contract without penalty if the contractor fails to provide surety in time. In Free State and North West, contracts were awarded to contractors that were unable to provide the prescribed sureties. Sureties were therefore either waived or reduced sureties were accepted by the Provincial Department of Public Works; and

k) There was a lack of consistency on professional fees between projects implemented by the North West provincial Department of Public Works and those implemented by the Provincial Department of Basic Education. For projects implemented by the Provincial Department of Public Works, professional fees were budgeted for at a rate of 18% of the contract value, compared to the 8.5% for those projects implemented by the Provincial Department of Basic Education.

 

The Committee recommends that the Provincial Accounting Officer ensures the following:

 

a) Document management systems are strengthened so that all relevant documents from the initial needs determination up to project closure are available;

b) Disciplinary action is taken against responsible persons where documentation could not be submitted for auditing purposes;

c) Skilled supply chain personnel is appointed to suitable positions;    

d) The Construction Industry Development Board register is consulted to determine the contractor’s capacity before bids are awarded;

e) Contractors not performing in accordance with contract specifications are reported to the Construction Industry Development Boar;

f) The independent approval of deviations from the prescribed procurement processes is defined;

g) Guidance on the evaluation of contract proposals especially with  regards to the evaluation of the capacity of contractors to execute multiple contracts is conducted;

h) Coordination between the different role players to guarantee that projects can be commissioned and utilised at first handover is done; and

i) Departments follow proper management practises in the implementation of its projects so that they are able to plan and allocate adequate resources to its projects.

 

2.3 Project Management

 

The Auditor-General raised specific concerns on the following and reported as follows:

 

a) Where Provincial Departments of Basic Education do not act as implementing agents, project management is the responsibility of Provincial Departments of Public Works or service agents that Provincial Departments of Basic Education appoint to this role. Provincial Departments of Basic Education nevertheless have to play an oversight role to ensure that implementing agents fulfil their mandate as agreed and that the end product will serve their needs;

 

b) The projects selected for auditing were for the most part, either completed late or still being constructed although the contractual completion dates had passed. Where possible, the planned completion dates were compared to the actual completion dates of the projects or the progress at the time when the projects were audited;

 

c) Although contractors in the Eastern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and North West did not make adequate progress during their contractual term, their contracts were not cancelled in a timely manner and/or delays in appointing replacement contractors occurred. In some instances, notice letters were issued but not enforced or the terms of the service level agreements to ensure the timely completion of the projects were not adhered to. When contractors were replaced, additional costs were incurred and the combined cost of the original and the replacement contractors exceeded the original contract price in some instances. The following serve as examples:

 

* In the Eastern Cape, two projects were identified where the implementing agent did not take timely action to cancel contracts on which contractors did not show the required progress and/or where the quality of work did not meet standards. Furthermore, replacement contractors were either appointed up to seven months after the termination of the original contractors;

 

d) Contractors experienced cash flow problems that affected progress on projects negatively, as they were unable to pay their suppliers and workforce. Implementing agents made late payments to contractors in Eastern Cape, Free State, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West which contributed to the cash flow problems. Contractors were therefore financially unable to complete the projects. The following serves as examples:

 

* In North West, 35% of contractors from audited projects lodged complaints during site meetings regarding late payments. This has resulted in the contractors experiencing cash flow and labour problems, which had negative effects on the timely completion of the projects. In some instances, the affected contractors had to reduce their workforce. At the Keotshepile Primary School, the cash flow problems of the contractor led to the non-payment of workers, which caused local labourers to lose interest in working for the contractor. Four claims were reported to have been outstanding for more than 91 days and a price increase of R296 458 was included on payment documentation; the increase was mostly due to late payments; and

 

e) Where Provincial Departments of Basic Education do not act as implementing agents, the Department still has the responsibility to visit projects from time to time to ensure that progress and the quality of work is  in accordance with specifications as these Departments remain accountable for the expenditure of the funds on their budgets. The implementing agent carries the primary responsibility of overseeing construction work. In 58% of the projects audited in the Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West and Western Cape, poor quality of construction work was identified. However, this was not identified during site inspections by implementing agents, or site inspections were not conducted. In some cases, unsatisfactory work was identified but left unaddressed due to inadequate supervision and monitoring by implementing agents. In addition, Provincial Departments of Basic Education did not have the capacity to monitor the work of implementing agents. Several defects in construction were noted during site visits by audit teams.

 

The Committee recommends that the Provincial Accounting Office ensures that:

 

a) The number of technical staff and project managers required to effectively manage complex infrastructure projects is established scientifically;

b) Project managers conduct site inspections regularly and effective monitoring of contractors;

c) Proper penalties are instituted against contractors who perform poorly;

d) Effective evaluation of skills and capacity of contractors is carried out before awarding contracts;

e) The document management system is strengthened to guarantee that all relevant documents from the initial needs determination to project closure are available;

f) There is adherence to project management principles, including monitoring, adherence to contract specifications, the issuing of variation orders and the treatment of sureties and retention monies; and

g) Disciplinary action is taken against responsible persons.

 

2.4 Commissioning and utilisation

 

The Auditor-General raised specific concerns on the following and reported as follows:

a) Coordination and liaison between officials at Provincial Departments of Basic Education and Public Works or implementing agents was insufficient to ensure that schools or sections of schools were used optimally at the time of commissioning. In the Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, North West and Western Cape, insufficient synchronisation between the times of commissioning, the appointment of staff, the availability of certain equipment and furniture to support effective teaching and learning processes led to schools not being used optimally. The following serve as examples:

 

* In Gauteng, the Provincial Department of Basic Education’s failure to synchronise the procurement of library and computer related resources with infrastructure delivery timetables resulted in, as at 31 March 2009, computer rooms and libraries of ten schools not being used.

* In Free State, computer rooms at the Atang Primary School were not used, as equipment was unavailable at the date of commissioning. The Provincial Department of Basic Education did not report on the project’s progress to the district office in time for them to budget for and procure the required equipment.

* During a visit in July 2008 at the Ekuthuleni Primary School in the Western Cape, the audit team determined that the library had not been used since the school was commissioned in 26 January 2006. According to the principal, the resources for the library had been ordered two months prior to the initial completion of the school in November 2005, but had not been delivered. A visit to the school on 31 January 2011 (five years after commissioning) revealed that the library was still not fully utilised. Books in the library were donated by a charity organisation, but books ordered by the Department had not been provided;

 

b) In Eastern Cape, Free State and Western Cape, projects were completed but facilities were unused as the furniture was not issued. The facilities exceeded the needs of the learners or did not address the needs of the schools; and

c) There was insufficient coordination between the Eastern Cape Departments of     Education, Justice and Constitutional Development, Social Development and Correctional Services to give effect to a court order issued in 2003 to establish a reform school in the Province. The newly constructed Special Youth Care Centre had been completed in June 2009, but has only been used since January 2011. The estimated cost of the unused reform school was R231 million. The facility was not operational as no action plans were in place for both the staffing needs and the procurement of furniture and equipment.

 

The Committee recommends that the Provincial Accounting Officers ensures that:

 

a) Unutilised or underutilised facilities are identified, recorded and investigated to determine whether it can be effectively utilised to promote service delivery;

b) Proper coordination of projects between role players is done;

c) Project management approach is adhered to so that completed projects are utilised for intended purposes;

d) Monitoring of projects usage is done; and

e) Proper disciplinary processes are taken against employees who neglect their duties and waste state resources.

 

3. Conclusion

 

The Auditor-General’s report on the infrastructure delivery process shows that there is lack of project monitoring and leadership oversight by the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Public Works which has led project delays and poor workmanship in all provinces.

 

The Department of Basic Education should take an active oversight and monitoring role over all its planned and current projects in order to eliminate delays and to ensure compliance with supply chain management processes and subsequently improvement in service delivery. The National Department of Basic Education should ensure that national norms and standards for infrastructure are developed and implemented. The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, the Department of Public Works, the Public Service Commission and the National Treasury should ensure that their respective provincial departments implement these resolutions as well as resolutions from provincial SCOPAs.

 

The Committee recommends that the Executive Authority submits a progress report on all the above recommendations to the National Assembly within 60 days after the adoption of this Report by the House.

 

The Committee further recommends that the Accounting Officer submits quarterly reports on all the above-mentioned recommendations.

 

Report to be considered.

 

6. FOURTEENTH REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC ACCOUNTS ON THE REPORT OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL OF SOUTH AFRICA ON THE PERFORMANCE AUDIT OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE DELIVERY PROCESS AT PROVINCIAL DEPARTMENTS OF BASIC EDUCATION, DATED 23 MAY 2012

 

1. Background

 

The Auditor-General South Africa (the Auditor-General)) conducted performance audits of the infrastructure delivery process at the provincial departments of Health and Basic Education as part of a transversal performance audit on infrastructure delivery. The transversal report was tabled in Parliament on 06 September 2011. The provinces’ specific reports were tabled in their respective provincial legislatures.

The Committee on Public Accounts (the Committee) heard and considered evidence on the 21 November 2011 from Members of Executive Councils (MECs) of Basic Education, Finance and Provincial Heads of Departments from the following provinces:

 

* Eastern Cape;

* Free State;

* KwaZulu-Natal;

* Limpopo;

* Mpumalanga;

* Western Cape;

* Gauteng;

* North West; and

* Northern Cape.

 

2. Findings and Recommendations

 

The Auditor-General raised specific concerns on the following and reported as follows:

 

2.1 Demand management

 

a) The needs determination, planning and prioritising for the infrastructure projects were not completed on time. The needs were identified up to 13 years prior to the acquisition of resources through tenders’ being awarded. The planning phases of projects were also delayed due to: 

* Lack of capacity and qualified staff at Provincial Departments and implementing agents to ensure that comprehensive planning takes place timeously;

* Insufficient project information at the identification stage of projects to ensure that realistic values were allocated on infrastructure budgets;

* Some needs not being included in the initial planning which resulted in scope changes.

b) The designs for infrastructure projects were not done on time and, in some instances the design period was longer than the construction period. Standard plans were not always used and design costs were duplicated as similar infrastructure facilities were designed individually.

c) The communication and coordination between departments, management, local authorities and /or communities were ineffective to ensure comprehensive infrastructure delivery, as all the role-players did not engage properly during the planning of the projects. Service delivery was negatively affected as the projects were put on hold or were delayed due to scope changes. Furthermore, the projects were relocated from one site to another or new structures were demolished as buildings were erected on inappropriate sites.

 

The Committee recommends that the Accounting Officer of the National Department of Basic Education ensures the following: 

 

a) A specific policy that deals comprehensively with the infrastructure delivery process and guidelines be developed and implemented as a matter of urgency and it should address the following:

* Roles and responsibilities of the National Department, Provincial Departments and implementing agents are defined clearly;

* The process and information to be used to facilitate the needs determination that indicates how to interpret and validate statistical information and demographic trends; and

* Stakeholder interaction and consultation with community organisations, governing bodies and local authorities is conducted;

b) Proper planning is done to determine budget availability for planned infrastructure projects taking into consideration escalation costs; and

c) A formal prioritisation model to facilitate needs analysis to guarantee that urgent needs are given priority.

 

2.2 Acquisition management

 

The Auditor-General raised specific concerns on the following:

 

a) The appointment of contractors and consultants involved in infrastructure projects were delayed, as in some instances, the bid evaluation process took longer to complete than the validity period of the bids.

b) The process was not always cost-effective as the Bid Evaluation Committees and the Bid Adjudication Committees did not consider the prescribed procurement legislation and regulations properly in evaluating, scoring and making recommendations to the Accounting Officer regarding awarding bids. This contributed to contracts being awarded to contractors that did not have the skills and capacity to execute these projects.

c) Procurement legislation, regulations and practice notes were contravened in approximately 47% of the projects audited. Where possible irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure was identified, the Accounting Officer was requested to investigate the matter and institute action as required by the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).

d) In Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga, the Bid Evaluation Committees disqualified bids based on the bidding prices of prospective suppliers being too low or too high compared to a predetermined estimate. In Limpopo, this practice was followed throughout as a standard working method. These bids were excluded from the evaluation process, despite the specific prohibition of this practice in supply chain management practice notes issued by National Treasury.

e) The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) was established to   promote and develop a framework for the construction industry to regulate the actions, practices and procedures of parties engaged in construction contracts. The Construction Industry Development Board grades contractors according to a certain criteria and the grading is indicative of the contractor’s ability to complete a certain volume of construction work. In the public sector, it is a contravention of the Construction Industry Development Board Act to appoint a contractor that is not registered, or is not registered at the correct grading. Bid Evaluation Committees did not consult the Construction Industry Development Board register to confirm the registration and grading of the bidders during the evaluation process. Contracts to the value of approximately R669,5 million were awarded to contractors for the construction and/or renovation of schools while the contractors were either not registered with the Construction Industry Development Board or were registered, but held a grading lower than required.

f) The procurement legislation and regulations prescribe a process to be followed during the appointment of contractors to ensure that the process is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost effective. In Eastern Cape and Limpopo, tenders for the appointment of contractors were either not advertised in at least the Government Tender Bulletin or not advertised for a minimum of 21 days to promote a competitive bidding process. As a result, a small number of prospective suppliers submitted bids;

g) During the bid evaluation process, bids are scored to indicate the most appropriate contractor to execute the project. In the Free State, Limpopo and Western Cape provinces, contracts were awarded to contractors other than those that scored the highest number of points during the evaluation of bids. In some instances, the Bid Evaluation Committee calculated the points for certain criteria incorrectly during evaluation.

h) Bid Evaluation Committees did not sufficiently consider and verify the financial viability, available resources, capacity, ability and experience of the contractors during the appointment process. Furthermore, the Construction Industry Development Board grading was also not always used as an indicator of their ability to complete multiple contracts simultaneously.

i) The capacity of consultants to execute numerous projects simultaneously was not     considered in the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and North West provinces before awarding projects. In these Provinces, managing consultants were appointed without following the procurement prescripts and multiple contracts were awarded without considering their capacity to manage the volume of work allocated to them successfully.

j) Surety can be used to cover losses incurred later in the project due to a default on the part of the contractor. Before a contractor begins the execution of the contract, it must provide the Department with a performance surety of the amount specified in the special conditions of the contract. Providing surety on time is a suspensive condition and the Department can terminate the contract without penalty if the contractor fails to provide surety in time. In Free State and North West, contracts were awarded to contractors that were unable to provide the prescribed sureties. Sureties were therefore either waived or reduced sureties were accepted by the Provincial Department of Public Works.

k) There was a lack of consistency on professional fees between projects implemented by the North West provincial Department of Public Works and those implemented by the Provincial Department of Basic Education. For projects implemented by the Provincial Department of Public Works, professional fees were budgeted for at a rate of 18% of the contract value, compared to the 8.5% for those projects implemented by the Provincial Department of Basic Education.

 

The Committee recommends that the Provincial Accounting Officer ensures the following:

 

a) Document management systems are strengthened so that all relevant documents from the initial needs determination up to project closure are available;

b) Disciplinary action is taken against responsible persons where documentation could not be submitted for auditing purposes;

c) Skilled supply chain personnel is appointed to suitable positions;    

d) The Construction Industry Development Board register is consulted to determine the contractor’s capacity before bids are awarded;

e) Contractors not performing in accordance with contract specifications are reported to the Construction Industry Development Board.

f) The independent approval of deviations from the prescribed procurement processes is defined;

g) Guidance on the evaluation of contract proposals especially with regard to the evaluation of the capacity of contractors to execute multiple contracts is conducted;

h) Coordination between the different role players to guarantee that projects can be commissioned and utilised at first handover is done; and

i) Departments follow proper management practices in the implementation of its projects so that they are able to plan and allocate adequate resources to its projects.

 

2.3 Project Management

 

The Auditor-General raised specific concerns on the following and reported as follows:

 

a) Where Provincial Departments of Basic Education do not act as implementing agents, project management is the responsibility of Provincial Departments of Public Works or service agents that Provincial Departments of Basic Education appoint to this role. Provincial Departments of Basic Education nevertheless have to play an oversight role to ensure that implementing agents fulfil their mandate as agreed and that the end product will serve their needs.

 

b) The projects selected for auditing were for the most part, either completed late or still being constructed although the contractual completion dates had passed. Where possible, the planned completion dates were compared to the actual completion dates of the projects or the progress at the time when the projects were audited;

 

c) Although contractors in the Eastern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and North West did not make adequate progress during their contractual term, their contracts were not cancelled in a timely manner and/or delays in appointing replacement contractors occurred. In some instances, notice letters were issued but not enforced or the terms of the service level agreements to ensure the timely completion of the projects were not adhered to. When contractors were replaced, additional costs were incurred and the combined cost of the original and the replacement contractors exceeded the original contract price in some instances. The following serve as examples:

 

* In the Eastern Cape, two projects were identified where the implementing agent did not take timely action to cancel contracts on which contractors did not show the required progress and/or where the quality of work did not meet standards. Furthermore, replacement contractors were either appointed up to seven months after the termination of the original contractors.

 

d) Contractors experienced cash flow problems that affected progress on projects negatively, as they were unable to pay their suppliers and workforce. Implementing agents made late payments to contractors in Eastern Cape, Free State, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West which contributed to the cash flow problems. Contractors were therefore financially unable to complete the projects. The following serves as examples:

* In North West, 35% of contractors from audited projects lodged complaints during site meetings regarding late payments. This has resulted in the contractors experiencing cash flow and labour problems, which had negative effects on the timely completion of the projects. In some instances, the affected contractors had to reduce their workforce. At the Keotshepile Primary School, the cash flow problems of the contractor led to the non-payment of workers, which caused local labourers to lose interest in working for the contractor. Four claims were reported to have been outstanding for more than 91 days and a price increase of R296 458 was included on payment documentation; the increase was mostly due to late payments.

 

e) Where Provincial Departments of Basic Education do not act as implementing agents, the Department still has the responsibility to visit projects from time to time to ensure that progress and the quality of work is  in accordance with specifications as these Departments remain accountable for the expenditure of the funds on their budgets. The implementing agent carries the primary responsibility of overseeing construction work. In 58% of the projects audited in the Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West and Western Cape, poor quality of construction work was identified. However, this was not identified during site inspections by implementing agents, or site inspections were not conducted. In some cases, unsatisfactory work was identified but left unaddressed due to inadequate supervision and monitoring by implementing agents. In addition, Provincial Departments of Basic Education did not have the capacity to monitor the work of implementing agents. Several defects in construction were noted during site visits by audit teams.

 

The Committee recommends that the Provincial Accounting Office ensures the following:

 

a) The number of technical staff and project managers required to effectively manage complex infrastructure projects is established scientifically;

b) Project managers conduct site inspections regularly and effective monitoring of contractors;

c) Proper penalties are instituted against contractors who perform poorly;

d) Effective evaluation of skills and capacity of contractors is carried out before awarding contracts;

e) The document management system is strengthened to guarantee that all relevant documents from the initial needs determination to project closure are available;

f) There is adherence to project management principles, including monitoring, adherence to contract specifications, the issuing of variation orders and the treatment of sureties and retention monies; and

g) Disciplinary action is taken against responsible persons.

 

2.4 Commissioning and utilisation

 

The Auditor-General raised specific concerns on the following and reported as follows:

 

a)         Coordination and liaison between officials at Provincial Departments of Basic Education and Public Works or implementing agents was insufficient to ensure that schools or sections of schools were used optimally at the time of commissioning. In the Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, North West and Western Cape, insufficient synchronisation between the times of commissioning, the appointment of staff, the availability of certain equipment and furniture to support effective teaching and learning processes led to schools not being used optimally. The following serve as examples:

 

* In Gauteng, the Provincial Department of Basic Education’s failure to synchronise the procurement of library and computer related resources with infrastructure delivery timetables resulted in, as at 31 March 2009, computer rooms and libraries of ten schools not being used.

* In Free State, computer rooms at the Atang Primary School were not used, as equipment was unavailable at the date of commissioning. The Provincial Department of Basic Education did not report on the project’s progress to the district office in time for them to budget for and procure the required equipment.

* During a visit in July 2008 at the Ekuthuleni Primary School in the Western Cape, the audit team determined that the library had not been used since the school was commissioned in 26 January 2006. According to the principal, the resources for the library had been ordered two months prior to the initial completion of the school in November 2005, but had not been delivered. A visit to the school on 31 January 2011 (five years after commissioning) revealed that the library was still not fully utilised. Books in the library were donated by a charity organisation, but books ordered by the Department had not been provided.

 

b) In Eastern Cape, Free State and Western Cape, projects were completed but facilities were unused as the furniture was not issued. The facilities exceeded the needs of the learners or did not address the needs of the schools.

c) There was insufficient coordination between the Eastern Cape Departments of     Education, Justice and Constitutional Development, Social Development and Correctional Services to give effect to a court order issued in 2003 to establish a reform school in the Province. The newly constructed Special Youth Care Centre had been completed in June 2009, but has only been used since January 2011. The estimated cost of the unused reform school was R231 million. The facility was not operational as no action plans were in place for both the staffing needs and the procurement of furniture and equipment.

 

The Committee recommends that the Provincial Accounting Officers ensures the following:

 

a) Unutilised or underutilised facilities are identified, recorded and investigated to determine whether it can be effectively utilised to promote service delivery;

b) Proper coordination of projects between role players is done;

c) Project management approach is adhered to so that completed projects are utilised for intended purposes;

d) Monitoring of projects usage is done; and

e) Proper disciplinary processes are taken against employees who neglect their duties and waste state resources.

 

3. Conclusion

 

The Auditor General’s Report on the infrastructure delivery process shows that there is lack of project monitoring and leadership oversight by the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Public Works which has led project delays and poor workmanship in all provinces.

 

The Department of Basic Education should take an active oversight and monitoring role over all its planned and current projects in order to eliminate delays and to ensure compliance with supply chain management processes and subsequently improvement in service delivery. The National Department of Basic Education should ensure that national norms and standards for infrastructure are developed and implemented. The National Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, the National Department of Public Works, the Public Service Commission and the National Treasury should ensure that their respective provincial departments implement these resolutions as well as resolutions from provincial standing committees on public accounts (provincial SCOPAs).

 

The Committee recommends that the Executive Authority submits a progress report on all the above recommendations to the National Assembly within 60 days after the adoption of this Report by the House.

 

The Committee further recommends that the Accounting Officer submits quarterly reports on all the above-mentioned recommendations.

 

Report to be considered.

 

MONDAY, 23 JULY 2012

 

TABLINGS

 

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

 

1.         The Speaker and the Chairperson

 

(a)        Consolidated General Report of the Auditor-General on the Local Government Audit Outcomes for 2010-11 [RP 216-2012].

 

COMMITTEE REPORTS

 

National Assembly

 

1.         Report of the Portfolio Committee on Health on the National Health Amendment Bill [B 24 - 2011] (National Assembly – sec 76), dated 18 June 2012:

 

The Portfolio Committee on Health, having considered the subject of the National Health Amendment Bill [B 24 - 2011] (National Assembly – sec 76) referred to it and classified by the Joint Tagging Mechanism (JTM) as a section 76 Bill, reports the Bill with amendments [B 24A - 2011].

 

Report to be considered.

 

THURSDAY, 26 JULY 2012

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

 

The Speaker and the Chairperson

 

1.         Classification of Bills by Joint Tagging Mechanism (JTM)

 

(1) The JTM in terms of Joint Rule 160(6) classified the following Bill as a section 76 Bill:

 

(a) Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Bill [B 14 – 2012 (Re-introduced)] (National Assembly – sec 76).

 

2.         Draft Bills submitted in terms of Joint Rule 159

 

(1) Tourism Bill, 2012, submitted by the Minister of Tourism.

 

Referred to the Portfolio Committee on Tourism and the Select Committee on Trade and International Relations.

 

3.         Request for recommendation of candidates to reconstitute Central Drug Authority

 

(1) A letter dated 26 June 2012 has been received from the Minister of Social Development, requesting Parliament’s committees for social development to recommend, from the list of 61 nominees and their curricula vitae submitted for consideration, suitable candidates to reconstitute the Central Drug Authority in accordance with section 2(3) of the Prevention and Treatment of Drug Dependency Act, 1992 (No 20 of 1992).

 

Referred to the Portfolio Committee on Social Development and to the Select Committee on Social Services for consideration and report.

 

TABLINGS

 

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

1.         The Speaker and the Chairperson

 

(a)        Interim Report of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) for the period April 2011 to September 2011.

 

2.         The Minister of Finance

           

(a) Report and Financial Statements of the South African Reserve Bank for 2011-2012, including the Report of the Independent Auditors on the Financial Statements for 2011-2012.

 

(b) Government Notice No 556, published in Government Gazette No 35500, dated 13 July 2012: Draft Municipal Financial Misconduct Regulations (call for comments), in terms of the Local Government:  Municipal Finance Management Act, 2003 (Act No 56 of 2003).

 

3.         The Minister of Tourism

 

(a)        Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the Republic of Ghana on cooperation in the Field of Tourism, tabled in terms of section 231(3) of the Constitution, 1996.

 

(b)        Explanatory Memorandum to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the Republic of Ghana on cooperation in the Field of Tourism.

 

(c)        Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe on cooperation in the Field of Tourism, tabled in terms of section 231(3) of the Constitution, 1996.

 

(d)        Explanatory Memorandum to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe on cooperation in the Field of Tourism.

 

(e)        Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho on cooperation in the Field of Tourism, tabled in terms of section 231(3) of the Constitution, 1996.

 

(f)         Explanatory Memorandum to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho on cooperation in the Field of Tourism.

 

National Assembly

 

1.         The Speaker

 

(a)        Consolidated Report of the Public Service Commission (PSC) on Inspections of Detective Services:  Department of Police – September 2011 [RP 273-2011].

 

COMMITTEE REPORTS

 

National Assembly

 

(The following report replaces the report of the Standing Committee on Finance which was published in ATC dated Wednesday, 9 May 2012 on page 1382.)

 

1.         Report of the Standing Committee on Finance on the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters as amended by the 2011 Protocol, dated 09 May 2012.

 

The Standing Committee on Finance, having considered the request for approval by Parliament of the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters as amended by the 2011 Protocol, recommends that the House, in terms of section 231 (2) of the Constitution, approve the said protocol.

 

Report to be considered.

 

(THE FOLLOWING REPORT REPLACES THE REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC ACCOUNTS WHICH WAS PUBLISHED ON PAGE 2558 IN ATC NUMBER 91, DATED 19 JULY 2012.)

 

2. FOURTEENTH REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC ACCOUNTS ON THE REPORT OF THE AUDITOR-GENERAL OF SOUTH AFRICA ON A PERFORMANCE AUDIT OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE DELIVERY PROCESS AT THE PROVINCIAL DEPARTMENTS OF HEALTH, DATED 23 MAY 2012

 

     

1. Background

 

The Auditor-General of South Africa (the Auditor-General) conducted performance audits of the infrastructure delivery process at the departments of Health and Education as part of a transversal performance audit on infrastructure delivery.

 

The transversal report was tabled in Parliament on 6 September 2011.The provinces specific reports were tabled in the respective provincial legislature.

 

2. Findings and recommendations

 

The Committee on Public Accounts (the Committee) heard and considered evidence on the

 22 November 2011 form the provincial Members of Executive Council for Health and Finance, the Deputy Minister of Health, and the Head of Departments from the following Provinces:

 

* Eastern Cape;

* Free State;

* Gauteng;

* Kwa-Zulu Natal;

* Limpopo;

* Mpumalanga;

* North West;

* Northern Cape; and

* Western Cape.

 

2.1 Demand acquisition

 

The Auditor-General raised specific concerns on the following and reported as follows:

 

a) The success of an infrastructure project depends, to a large extent, on the quality of the needs assessment and planning of a project. In the Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West and Western Cape provinces, scope changes were made subsequent to the start of and during construction as all the needs were not included in the projects’ initial planning. The scope changes were effected during the planning phase, or variance orders were used, which resulted in higher project costs. The following serve as examples:

 

* In the Western Cape, four projects were identified where the total project cost at completion had increased by up to 260% between the first time it appeared on the budget in 2004 and the last time it appeared on the budget in 2008 as available project information was not sufficient at the identification stage of the projects to ensure that realistic values were allocated to projects on the infrastructure budgets.

 

* During 2005, the budgeted cost for the construction of the Zola Hospital Complex in Gauteng increased to R624,4 million (144%) from the initial estimated cost of R255,7 million due to, inter alia, changes and additions to the scope of work. This included a complete revision of the scope of work as the project changed from a 250 to a 300-bed district hospital in 2005, which resulted in the preparation of a new project implementation plan. Although the project should have been completed during November 2007, according to Revision 1 of the project implementation plan dated 10 March 2005, the expected completion date was moved to February 2011 and according to recent information obtained it was postponed to December 2011.

 

b)         A lack of capacity and qualified staff to ensure that the planning of the infrastructure projects took place on time in the KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape provinces at the provincial departments of Health and Public Works and other implementing agents, resulted in long delays in completing the planning of projects. The following serves as an example:

 

* The construction of clinics and hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal were delayed due to the lack of capacity of officials at the provincial Department of Public Works who acted as the implementing agent for the provincial Department of Health. The department committed itself to manage more projects than they could cope with, resulting in delays of up to five years. A service level agreement was drawn up by the provincial departments of Health and Public Works and the Ithala Development Finance Corporation, transferring various projects to them in an attempt to avoid further delays in finalising the construction of the projects. Eight of the projects with a total value of R198,6 million that were transferred, had already been delayed between one to five years. Furthermore, Ithala Development Finance Corporation also had a lack of capacity, as six programme managers were appointed to manage 29 projects for the provincial Department of Health and 230 projects for the provincial Department of Education.

 

c)         Although the need for facilities in the Free State was identified in the 1990’s, tenders for their construction were awarded up to 13 years later. During 1997-98, a needs determination was done for some of the infrastructure projects and consultants were appointed to draw up plans for the projects. However, due to the magnitude of the projects, it was later decided to divide them into phases. No evidence could be submitted that the needs for the various phases were reassessed or that amendments to the original plans were made to ensure that they were still relevant and incorporated new infrastructure technology

 

d)         The planning of projects in Kwazulu-Natal, Gauteng and North West did not always coincide with funds and other resources being available to execute the projects. The following serve as examples:

 

* In Kwazulu-Natal, the original budgets for 13 projects increased as a result of delays during the planning stage of the projects. One of the major contributing factors was that planning was started knowing that funds will not be available immediately. Therefore, the planning had to be revisited before commencing with the project to ensure compliance with the changes in the relevant legislature, regulations and trends that occurred. For eight of these projects, a variance of R332,4 million arose between the original budget and the actual expenditure.

 

* In Gauteng, advertisements calling for tenders for the construction of two new wards at the Sterkfontein Hospital were placed in the media by the provincial Department of Public Works, 30 months after the date proposed by the provincial Department of Health.

 

e)         The provincial departments of Public Works and Health in the Limpopo, North West and Western Cape provinces had not monitored the time taken to complete the designs. The average design period for six projects in the Western Cape was 21 months, and a comparison with the respective construction periods indicated that for five projects the design period was longer than the construction period. Shortcomings were indentified in the design plans for accommodation at the Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain district hospitals. Furthermore, in the North West province, standardised design plans that require standardised materials for similar projects were not used during planning and, as a result, hospitals, clinics and health centres were designed individually without considering savings by using standard plans and thereby eliminating some of the design costs.

 

f)          The communication and coordination between the provincial departments of Health in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, North West and Gauteng, the communities, local authorities and/or hospital management was ineffective to ensure comprehensive infrastructure delivery as all the role-players were not properly engaged during the planning of the projects. This contributed to the needs for infrastructure projects not being properly identified and addressed before the commencement of the projects. The following serve as examples:

 

* The North West provincial Department of Health did not effectively liaise with the local community and the adjacent mining company to ensure that the new Bapong clinic would be constructed in a demarcated area suitable to all role-players and that would adequately address the health needs of the community. Project construction was postponed during June 2008 as a result of a court interdict obtained by the tribal authorities and the adjacent chrome mine. The estimated budget for the new Bapong community health centre amounted to R24 000 000. The Independent Development Trust Client Progress Report for February 2008 for the North West Health Infrastructure Programme Phase 3, indicated a further increase in cost of R15 220 000. According to the 2011 Medium Term Expenditure Framework the Bapong community health centre is progressing well and was 98 percent completed on 31 March 2011.

* Management at the Kalafong Hospital in Gauteng was not engaged during the planning stage of the project for upgrading and renovating the intensive care unit, to ensure that their needs were addressed before commencement of the project. This resulted in scope changes and a delay of 41 months after the planned date of completion for this project in which critically ill patients on life support systems were affected.

 

The Committee recommends that the Accounting Officer for the National Department of Health ensures that:

a)         A specific policy that deals comprehensively with the infrastructure delivery process in the health sector is in place;

b)         Roles and responsibilities of the national department, provincial departments and implementing agents should be defined;

c)         A formal prioritisation model with set priorities to facilitate the ranking of needs to ensure that the most urgent needs are addressed first;

d)         The guidance on the evaluation of contract proposals especially with regard to the evaluation of the capacity of contractors to execute multiple contracts; and

e)         There is stakeholder interaction and consultation with community organisations, governing bodies and local authorities.

 

2.2        Acquisition management

 

The Auditor-General of South Africa raised specific concerns on the following and

reported as follows:

 

a) The appointment of contractors and consultants involved in infrastructure projects were delayed as, in some instances, the bid evaluation process took longer to complete than the validity period of the bids. The process was not always cost-effective as the Bid Evaluation Committees and the Bid Adjudication Committees did not properly consider the prescribed procurement legislation and regulations in evaluating, scoring and making recommendations to the accounting officer regarding awarding bids. This contributed to contracts being awarded to contractors that did not have the skills and capacity to execute these projects. Procurement legislation, regulations and practice notes issued by National Treasury were contravened in approximately 38% of the projects audited.Where possible irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure was identified, the accounting officer was requested to investigate the matter and institute the actions as required by the Public Finance Management Act.

 

b)         The procurement legislation and regulations contains requirements that contractors   must fulfil before being appointed. The contractors’ ability to comply with these requirements is indicative of its ability to successfully complete the allocated projects and a tax clearance certificate indicates that a contractor’s tax affairs are in order or that satisfactory arrangements had been made with the South African Revenue Service to meet any outstanding obligations. In the Free State, Gauteng and North West provinces, three contracts to the value of R1,3 billion were awarded to bidders that failed to submit original tax clearance certificates from the South African Revenue Service. None of the three projects were completed by the contractors and they had to be replaced. The following serves as examples:

 

* In the Free State, a contract to the value of R19,4 million was awarded to a contractor that failed to submit an original tax clearance certificate. Although the Bid Adjudication Committee supported the recommendation of the Bid Evaluation Committee to disqualify the bidder because it did not submit a tax clearance certificate, the head of the provincial Department of Public Works appointed the bidder in contravention of the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act. The contract with the contractor was terminated due to insufficient progress and poor quality of construction work. A replacement contract was appointed on 24 November 2008. As at 19 July 2011, the provincial Department of Health confirmed that the work by the second contractor was completed although challenges remained on the quality issues.

 

* In Gauteng, a contract to the value of R334, 9 million was awarded to a joint venture to construct the Zola Hospital Complex without confirming the validity of the tax clearance certificates of the members of the joint venture. After the withdrawal of three of the joint venture partners, only one contractor remained. The provincial Department of Health entered into a contract with this contractor, to the value of R480 million, in August 2008. Subsequently, the provincial department of Health’s own investigation found that the contractor misrepresented the validity of its tax clearance certificate, with tax returns outstanding since 2004. Furthermore, the contractor failed to make sufficient progress and deliver quality work. The contract was terminated in September 2008.

 

Furthermore, a contract to the value of R457 million for the Brits Hospital was awarded to the same contractor in the North West province. The contractor did not submit the required tax clearance certificate and the outstanding taxes were deducted from the first payment to the contractor in the form of a garnishing order. The contract with the Joint venture of the Brits hospital was terminated. During a follow-up visit to the hospital in June 2011, it was indicated that the company that originally submitted the lowest bid was appointed as replacement contractor to complete the hospital. The Brits hospital is now due to be finalised in August 2012.

c)         In seven provinces, the Bid Evaluation Committees did not consult the Construction Industry Development Board register to confirm the registration and grading of the bidders during the evaluation process. Contracts to the value of R876,8 million were awarded to contractors for the construction of hospitals, clinics and health centres while the contractors were either not registered with the Construction Industry Development Board or were registered, but held a contract designation grading lower than required.

 

d)         The procurement legislation and regulations prescribe a process that needs to be followed during the appointment of contractors to ensure that the process is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost effective. In the Gauteng, Free State, Kwazulu-Natal, Limpopo and North West provinces, contracts were awarded to contractors other than those recommended by the Bid Evaluation Committees and Bid Adjudication Committees. The accounting officer overruled or did not consider the decisions and recommendations of the committees. In most instances, the reasons for decisions were not documented as required. This contributed to contracts being awarded to contractors at higher prices than the bid prices of contractors that were recommended by the committees concerned.

 

e)         In the Free State, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, North West and Limpopo provinces, the Bid Evaluation Committees disqualified bids based on the bidding prices of prospective suppliers being too low or too high compared to a predetermined estimate. In the Limpopo province, this practice was followed throughout as a standard working method. These bids were excluded from the evaluation process despite this practice being specifically prohibited in a supply chain management practice note issued by National Treasury.

 

f)          Bid Evaluation Committees did not sufficiently consider and verify the financial viability, available resources, capacity, ability and experience of the contractors and consultants during the appointment process. Furthermore, the contractor’s Construction Industry Development Board grading was also not always used as an indicator of its ability to complete multiple contracts simultaneously. As a result:

 

* Multiple contracts were awarded to contractors or consultants in seven provinces. Contracts with most of these contractors were subsequently terminated due to insufficient progress, unsatisfactory workmanship or a failure to cooperate with the implementing agents.

 

* Multiple contracts in Gauteng, North West and the Eastern Cape were awarded to one contractor. Seven contracts to the value of more than R1 billion were awarded within a period of 36 months to this contractor individually or as part of a joint venture where in many instances it was the lead contractor. All the contracts awarded by the respective departments of Health were terminated. These contracts were awarded not withstanding the contractor’s Construction Industry Development Board grading of “8 CE PE” that only allows it to conduct projects of R30 million to R100 million.

 

The Committee recommends that the Provincial Accounting Officers ensures that:

 

a) The document management systems are strengthened so that all the relevant documents from the initial needs determination up to project closure are available;

b) Disciplinary actions against responsible persons should be considered where documentation could not be submitted for auditing purposes;

c) Staff involved in the supply chain management process should be trained in the application of the relevant legislation and regulations, in instances where these were not followed, it should be investigated and where necessary disciplinary actions should be instituted;

d)         The Construction Industry Development Board register should be consulted to determine the contractor’s capacity before bids are awarded; and

e)         Contractors not performing to the contract specifications should be reported to the Construction Industry Development Board. Ensure there is compliance with laws and regulations.

 

2.3        Project management

 

The Auditor-General of South Africa raised specific concerns on the following and reported as follows:

 

a) Project management is the responsibility of the implementing agent, the provincial departments of Public Works or the service agent that the provincial departments of Health appointed in this role. The Department of Health nevertheless has to play an oversight role to ensure that the implementing agent is fulfilling its role as agreed and that the end product will serve its needs. To ensure effective service delivery, infrastructure needs to be completed on the planned target date. The projects selected for detailed auditing were, for the most part, either completed late or still being constructed although the contractual completion dates had passed. Where possible, the planned completion dates were compared to the actual completion dates of the projects or the progress at the time when the projects were audited.

 

b) During the construction contract period, the progress on the projects is discussed at regular site meetings. During these meetings, outstanding issues are resolved, decisions are made and instructions are given to the contractors. Although the contractors, provincial departments of Health and Public Works and/or the implementing agents have the responsibility to attend site meetings, in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and North West provinces they did not regularly attend such meetings. In some instances, projects were not properly monitored due to capacity constraints. The following serve as examples:

 

* Minutes of 36 meetings compiled during the construction of new wards at the Standerton Hospital in Mpumalanga were submitted for auditing. An analysis of these minutes showed that officials from the provincial Department of Public Works did not attend 25% of the site meetings held for the project while officials representing the provincial Department of Health did not attend 78% of these meetings. Although the planned completion date for the project was June 2007, the project was still in progress during 2009. According to the provincial Department of Health, their poor attendance at the site meetings was due to a lack of capacity. This delayed the actions or responses of responsible officials when problems were experienced.

 

* Officials from the KwaZulu-Natal provincial Department of Public Works and/or the implementing agents did not regularly attend site meetings due to capacity constraints. The provincial Department of Public Works had a vacancy rate of 64% and the implementing agent had a staff complement of six programme managers to manage 29 projects with a value of R337,4 million for the provincial Department of Health. In addition, the implementing agents used the same resources to manage 230 projects with a value of R210 million for the provincial Department of Education.

c)         Although the provincial Department of Health has the responsibility of visiting projects from time to time to ensure that progress and the quality of work is according to specification, the implementing agent carries the primary responsibility for the oversight of all construction work. In 42% of the projects audited, poor quality of construction work was identified.

 

            However, this was not identified during the site inspections by the implementing agents, or site inspections were not conducted. In some cases, unsatisfactory work was identified but left unaddressed due to inadequate monitoring by the implementing agents or the fact that the site meeting were not regularly attended by all the relevant role-players. Several defects in constructions were, however, noted during the site visits by the Auditor-General of South Africa.

 

d)         Although contractors did not make adequate progress during the contractual term, their contracts were either not cancelled timely or delays in appointing replacement contractors were identified as the implementing agents did not regularly monitor the progress on the projects to ensure the timely cancellation and replacement of contractors. When contractors were replaced, additional costs were incurred; therefore, the combined costs of the original and the replacement contractors exceeded the original contract price in some instances. The following serve as examples:

 

* In the Northern Cape, a joint venture was appointed to construct the New Mental Health Facility in Kimberley at a contract amount of R290,5 million, with a commencement date of 13 September 2005 and a completion date of 14 December 2007. An extension of 131 days was granted and the completion date was amended to 20 March 2008, but the hospital was still not complete as at December 2009 when the contract with the joint venture was terminated. A site visit in November 2010 confirmed that work on the project had not resumed. The total amount spent before the contract was terminated was R354,4 million. It was estimated that another R53 million will be needed to complete the project.

 

* In the Eastern Cape, the provincial Department of Health did not take prompt action to cancel contracts where contractors did not show the required progress and/or where the quality of work did not meet the standards. Four projects were identified where contracts were only terminated approximately two years after the planned completion dates of the projects. The actual construction cost of one project amounted to R142 million at the time of the termination, which was 36% more than the original contract amount of R105 million. The tender was advertised to appoint a replacement contractor. However, as the tender for the completion of the project was R57,6 million, additional construction costs owing to the non-performance of the original contractor was estimated at R95 million which was 90% more than the original contract amount.

 

* In the North West province, a contract with a value of R460 161 was awarded with a planned completion date of 23 April 2006. The contract was terminated in February 2007 due to insufficient progress and poor quality of work. Although tenders to appoint a replacement contractor were invited in February 2009, by 30 June 2009, which is more than two years after the contractor was terminated, a replacement contractor had still not been appointed.

 

d)         Contractors experienced cash flow problems which negatively affected progress on projects as they were unable to pay their suppliers, subcontractors and workforce. Late payments, which contributed to the cash flow problems, were made to the contractors by the provincial Department of Health or the implementing agents in the Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West provinces. The contractors were therefore not financially able to complete the projects.

 

The Committee recommends that the Provincial Accounting Officer ensures that:

a) Roles and responsibilities of the national department, provincial departments and implementing agents should be defined;

 

b) There is coordination between the different role players so that projects can be   commissioned and utilised at first handover;

c) Project managers with proper skills should be used to ensure that proper planning and execution is achievable through adequate allocation of resources. 

d) The number of technical staff and project managers required to effectively manage complex infrastructure projects should be scientifically established;

e) Project managers should conduct site inspections regularly and there should be effective monitoring of contractors. ; and

f) Penalties are instituted against contractors who perform poorly.

 

2.4 Commissioning and utilisation

 

The Auditor-General of South Africa raised specific concerns on the following and reported as follows:

 

a)         Coordination and liaison between the officials at the provincial departments of Health and Public Works or the implementing agents was insufficient to ensure that newly constructed hospitals, clinics and health centres, or sections thereof, were used optimally at the time of commissioning. In the Eastern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, North West and Western Cape provinces, insufficient synchronisation between the times of commissioning, the appointment of staff and the availability of certain equipment and services led to the hospitals and clinics not being used optimally. The following serve as examples:

 

* At the Winburg and Brandfort clinics in the Free State, the planned completion dates for the projects were 6 September 2005 and 26 September 2004 respectively. However, occupation only took place during June 2008, which was more than two years and nine months after the planned completion dates. During 2009, it was noted that the clinics were still not fully utilised due to staff shortages and a lack of certain equipment.

 

* At three facilities in KwaZulu-Natal, projects were completed and furniture and equipment delivered, however, the facilities were not used immediately as staff was not made available by the provincial Department of Health. Although a unit within a facility was completed on 18 September 2007, it was only commissioned on 6 January 2009, which is 1.4 years after its completion.

 

b)         Purchasing equipment for infrastructure should be coordinated to ensure that it is available for installation at the appropriate time during the construction or commissioning of the facilities. In the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, North West and Western Cape provinces, equipment to the value of approximately R12,5 million was purchased by the provincial departments of Health but could not be used due to the late completion of the projects by the contractor. The following serve as examples:

 

* Although the planned completion date for the laundry section at the Komani Hospital in Eastern Cape was 17 April 2008, the section was still not complete as at March 2009. An assessment by a second contractor indicated that it would not be viable to complete the project due to substantial defective work. This resulted in laundry equipment, amounting to R4,9 million being stored in an unsecured, uncovered area within the hospital complex. Furthermore, the hospital management decided to outsource a portion of the laundry service, As at 21 June 2011, the project was at a standstill as a new contractor had not yet been appointed.

 

* At the Kalafong Hospital in Gauteng, equipment to the value of R5,8 million was purchased by the provincial Department of Health during January 2008 for use in the ICU and High Care facilities. The use of some of the equipment had to be delayed as the project was still under construction on the date of delivery. The project was completed in November 2009, which is almost two years after the equipment was purchased. Some of the equipment was in storage at the hospital and the warranties had already lapsed before the equipment was used.

 

c)         In the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Western Cape provinces, projects that were completed had facilities standing unused or used for other purposes, such as a storage place for equipment. Some facilities were not operational owing to funding constraints, which delayed the training and/or appointment of the required staff.

 

* At the George Hospital in the Western Cape, the maternity theatre, day care ward and the restaurant were unused for up to six years. The handover dates for the restaurant, theatre and day care unit was 2002, 2004 and 2005 respectively. The estimated cost of the unused areas was R8,7 million. In August 2009, the provincial Department of Public Works was in the process of leasing the restaurant area to a private service provider.

The Committee recommends that the Provincial Accounting Officer ensures that:

 

a) Unutilised or underutilised facilities should be identified, recorded and investigated to determine whether it can be effectively utilised to promote service delivery;

b) Leadership oversight during all phases of the infrastructure delivery process should be strengthened;

c) Proper coordination of projects between role players should be ensured;

d) Project management approach to be strictly adhered to so that completed projects are utilised for intended purposes; and

e) Proper disciplinary action should be taken against employees who neglect their duties and waste state resources.

 

3. Conclusion

 

The Committee appreciates the sampling methodology used by the Auditor-General in conducting this performance audit, however the departments and provinces should rectify its entire infrastructure projects even those that were not part of the sample.

 

The Department of Health must take an active oversight and monitoring role over all its planned and current projects in order to eliminate delays and to ensure compliance with supply chain management processes and subsequently improvement in service delivery. The National Department of Health must ensure that national norms and standards for infrastructure are developed and implemented. National Departments such as Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Public Works, the Public Service Commission and National Treasury must ensure that their respective provincial departments implement these resolutions as well as resolutions from provincial committees on public accounts.

The Committee recommends that the Accounting Officer submits a progress report on all the above recommendations to the National Assembly within 60 days after the adoption of this report by the House. Provincial SCOPAs should monitor progress on implementation of resolutions in their respective provinces.

 

The Committee further recommends that the Accounting Officer submits quarterly reports on all the above-mentioned recommendations.

 

Report to be considered.

 

3. Report of the Portfolio Committee on Arts and Culture on an oversight visit, to public entities in the Free State and Northern Cape Province from 5-8 December 2011, dated 23 May 2012.

 

The Portfolio Committee on Arts and Culture having conducted an oversight visit to the National Museum, Performing Arts Centre of the Free State, Military Museum in the Free State Province and the William Humphreys Art Gallery in Kimberley, Northern Cape Province reports as follows:

 

1. Introduction

 

The Portfolio Committee on Arts and Culture, inspired by its Constitutional mandate and Rules of Parliament to ensure effective oversight and greater accountability of entities funded through transfers from the Department of Arts and Culture, embarked on an oversight visit of entities residing under the auspices of the aforementioned Government Department in the Free State and Northern Cape Province for the period 5 to 8 December 2011.

 

2. Terms of Reference

 

The entities that the Committee conducted oversight over were the National Museum, Performing Arts Centre of the Free State, Military Museum, Community Arts Craft Centres and Community Libraries in the Free State Province and the William Humphreys Art Gallery in the Northern Cape Province.

 

The objective of the oversight visit was multifold. The visit sought to:

* Ensure that the Committee detects and prevents abuse

* Prevent illegal and unconstitutional conduct on the part of the government

* Protect the rights and liberties of citizens

* Hold the government answerable for how taxpayers money is spent

* Make government operations more transparent and increase public trust in government

* Assess whether the entities complied with Government priorities

* Assess the challenges that the entities were faced with.

 

3. Delegation

 

The delegation consisted of:

 

Committee Members:

Hon Ms TB Sunduza (ANC)                    -           Chairperson and leader of the delegation

Hon Ms LN Moss (ANC)             -           Committee Whip

Hon Mr LP Khoarai (ANC)

Hon Ms TE Lishiva (ANC)

Hon Mr DW Mavunda (ANC)

Hon Ms MR Morutua (ANC)

Hon Mrs FF Mushwana (ANC)

Hon Dr A Lotriet (DA)

Hon Mr P Ntshiqela (COPE)

Hon Mr SZ Ntapane (UDM)

 

Parliamentary Officials

Mr J Van Der Westhuizen                       -           Acting Committee Secretary

Dr H Baloyi                                           -           Committee Researcher

Ms V Magadana                                    -           Executive Secretary to the Chairperson

 

Department of Arts and Culture

Dr M Jokweni                                        -           Acting Deputy Director - General

Mr M Ledimo                                         -           Acting Chief Director, Arts Social Development

                                                                        and Youth

Ms C Gcasamba                                   -           Media, Parliamentary Liaison Officer in the Office                                                                       of the Deputy Minister

Mr R Mahasha                           -           Chief Director, Heritage Institutions

 

4. Findings

4.1 National Museum, Bloemfontein, Free State Province           

The National Museum was established in 1877 and was declared a cultural institution. Its motto is “Curator Hereditatis “– which means it regarded itself as the custodian of our heritage. Its main task is to document, preserve, conserve, restore and make available study and promote specimens and information that relate to our natural history, cultural history and arts.

In addition to the main National Museum there were several satellite Museums that worked and operated under it. These were Oliewenhuis Art Museum, Florisbad Quaternary Research Station, Freshford House Museum, First Raadsaal Museum and the Wagon Museum.

 

The Museum had received an unqualified audit report with matters of emphasis. Upon arrival at the Museum the Committee was welcomed by the Director of the National Museum, Mr R Nuttal who was accompanied by the Chief Financial Officer, Ms E Smith; Mr D De Bruyn, Historian: National Museum; Mr P Letsatsi, Oral Historian: National Museum and Mr T Mohlakane- Mafoeka, Head of Department: Education, National Museum.

 

The Committee was also accompanied by Hon Ms O Tsolo MPL, Deputy Speaker: Free State Provincial Legislature and Hon Ms SP Makae MPL, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Education, Sports, Arts and Culture and Recreation.

 

Mr Nuttal, Director, National Museum indicated to the Committee that the Museum was governed by a Council and that the Council had an Audit Committee and ad hoc Committees that were fully functional. Their internal audit functions had been outsourced to Ernst and Young. They regularly monitored their budget and expenditure and completed their asset register.

 

The Director pointed out that as part of their internal controls they had a risk management strategy and fraud prevention plan in place. Their financial policies were also regularly reviewed and aligned with legislative imperatives.

 

He indicated that the Museum pursued the achievement of strategic objectives in the following areas of operations namely: curation and conservation of collections research, education and public programmes support services.

 

The Museum contributed towards tourism as follows: Through partnerships with the Heritage Routes and significant media coverage of the Museums activities. He indicated that they had plans to develop the concept of the Heritage Tourism Routes further.

 

Mr Nuttal indicated that despite limited opportunities in specialized disciplines they trained heritage practitioners in the professional handling, cleaning and conservation of museum objects. They also assisted local sculptors with advice and selling of wood carvings and facilitated attendance of workshops. They also had an internship programme that had been funded by the Department of Arts and Culture.

 

Mr Nuttal pointed out that they also envisaged the development of Heritage Tourism Routes concepts with emphasis on the rural areas. They also had a Mobile Museum outreach programme in the rural areas where they educate the children on career information in Heritage. They envisaged other social development programmes in the near future in collaboration with the University of the Free State.

 

Mr. Nuttal highlighted the successes that they had experienced. He indicated that the Museum had experienced high visitor numbers for the 2010/2011 financial year with a total of 199 470 visitors, 23% of which comprised learners.

 

Mr. D de Bruyn, Historian and Mr. P Letsatsi, Oral Historian, National Museum proceeded to present to the Committee the Batho Community History Project. Mr. de Bruyn explained that Batho was established in 1918 after a decision by the Municipal Council to demolish Waaihoek. At that time Waaihoek was Bloemfontein’s oldest black township, but due to its close proximity to white Bloemfontein the black people were moved to Batho and the Coloured people to Cape Stands. They were later moved to Heidedal. By 1941 Waaihoek’s last houses were demolished and the area was reclaimed as a white area known as Oranjesig.

 

He explained that Batho is a township with a rich history and that it was of great significance for a number of reasons. One reason was that in its early years Batho was seen as a model township in terms of its layout and infrastructure. Another reason for Batho’s importance lies in the many historical buildings and sites that may be found there. One such building was the Mapikela House. The house was built by Thomas Mapikela, a founder member and speaker of the African National Congress (ANC). Other buildings included the Caleb Motshabi Centre, Sehunelo Secondary School, Masenkeng Stadium and Ramkraal Prison.

 

Mr. De Bruyn explained that the purpose of the Batho Community History Project was to collect historical information by means of oral history, record, transcribe and preserve information, canvass photographs and artifacts, oral history and community history training.

 

The objectives of the Batho Community History Project were to use the information for research, display and educational purposes, and to explore the potential of oral history as a tool for community development and empowerment.

 

Mr. Letsatsi concluded by indicating that the Batho Community History Project contributed to a better understanding of history of the greater Batho area. It gave the Batho Community a voice, it created awareness of history and heritage, it created environmental awareness and it supported the National Museum’s transformation objectives.

 

Mr. Nuttal concluded the whole presentation by explaining to the Committee the challenges they were experiencing. He indicated that the lack of appropriate storage facilities for heritage collections were becoming critical, and since space was extremely limited for collections, they found it difficult to attract appropriately qualified people to consider for  employment, they did not have the necessary funds to pay market related salaries, they  lacked the resources to replace old assets, they did not have the necessary expertise to evaluate heritage collections and did not have the necessary capacity to undertake the exercise.

 

The Director invited the Committee to undertake a tour of the National Museum exhibits.

 

4.1.1 National Museum exhibits

 

The Committee proceeded to the Karoo Paleontology Department. They were met by Dr Jennifer Botha-Brink and her assistant, world-renowned paleontology technician Mr. John Nyaphuli. Of the two interns that the department had, Mr. Nyaphuli was the second South African citizen to win the coveted award.

The Committee was informed that all their exhibits were in Sesotho, Afrikaans and English, and they were shown the Paleontology Hall that depicted the evolution of life on Earth, beginning approximately 4000 million years ago. The entrance display included information about the earliest environmental conditions and suggestions on how life first began on Earth. A paleontology display for the disabled included a “touch and feel” display and associated information was also provided in Braille.

The Committee proceeded to the Archaeology Hall that presented a broad view of the history of Southern Africa, focusing on human communities from more than two million years ago. Several aspects of past human behavior were highlighted through the interpretation of material remains from ancient human societies. The Director, National Museum indicated that the hall was still under construction.

 

They proceeded to the Anthropology Hall, which incorporated ten ethnological displays that reflected the region’s rich and diverse cultural heritage and a display of African musical instruments. The following cultural groups were depicted: Ovambo, Himba, San/Bushman, Pedi, Sotho, Tswana, Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele and Venda.

 

The Committee moved to another Hall that depicted the Bloemfontein/Mangaung History. Mr. Nuttal indicated that the national Museum took the initiative to realize an exhibition where the history of the city and the role that all its inhabitants played, were portrayed.

 

The Historical Street scene Hall depicted the daily life of ordinary people in a Free State town at the end of the 19th to early 20th century. Household articles were shown in context, for example, a stove and a fridge of that period in a kitchen. Mr. Nuttal, Director, National Museum indicated that most of the furniture and household items were donated by the public, but certain pieces were purchased. The exhibition included scenes of a pharmacy, general dealer, blacksmith and a cobbler.

The Committee proceeded to the invertebrate hall that depicted certain aspects of the biology of invertebrates, such as movement and communication and also the biodiversity of invertebrates.

 

The Director of the national Museum then invited the Committee to undertake a site visit to one of the National Museum satellites, namely the Oliewenhuis Art Museum.

4.1.2 Oliewenhuis Art Museum

 

The Committee was welcomed by Ms. Ester Le Roux, Curator of the Oliewenhuis Art Museum. She gave a brief background explanation on the history of the Art Museum, stating   that the Art Museum had a permanent collection on the ground floor and exhibited a temporary collection on the first floor of the Museum, which also housed a selection of watercolor and pastel works.

 

Ms. Le Roux further pointed out that the Museum had a data monitor installed, which consistently regulated the temperature in the room, so as to preserve the artwork for future generations, and indicated that the Museum also had exhibits in the garden, which was situated behind the main building. One such exhibit was the sculpture park.

 

4.1.2.1 Sculpture Park

 

Ms. Le Roux explained that the Oliewenhuis Art Museum received funding in 2003 from the National Lotteries Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF) for a project that involved sculptors who resided and worked in South Africa. The sculptors were invited to submit proposals for sculptures to be permanently installed in the Museum gardens. The final selection took place during June 2004 and eleven sculptors were commissioned to produce sculptures for the project. These artworks now form the Sculpture Park.

 

4.1.2.2 Cement and Mosaic Project

 

Ms Le Roux explained that during November 2008 fourteen Mangaung residents, with various artistic abilities and experience, were selected to participate in the Cement and Mosaic Project. The first phase of the project entailed participants attending a workshop under the expert guidance of Museum artist, Ms Liz Ranger, where they were introduced to the use of cement and mosaic as a medium. During the workshop phase, participants created and decorated handmade ceramic tiles.

 

After the introduction phase they submitted “maquettes” to the advisory committee of the Oliewenhuis Art Museum which selected five sculptures to be erected in the gardens.

She explained that the objectives of the project were as follows:

 

* To create functional sculptures for the front garden of Oliewenhuis Art Museum.

* To introduce the artist-in- residence concept. The sculptures were created on site at the Oliewenhuis Art Museum and visitors to the Museum had the opportunity to observe the creation process.

* To introduce the participants to marketing skills and thus enabling them to create self- employment opportunities.

 

Ms Le Roux informed the Committee that the project was made possible through financial assistance from the National Department of Arts and Culture.

4.1.2.3 African Carousel

 

Ms Le Roux explained that the idea of a carousel grew out of the Museum’s desire to initiate a public sculpture commission that would engage more than one artist working in materials not normally used for outdoor public commissions. The commission was a nationwide project that was aimed at integrating European as well as African concepts of mythology that reflected the diversity of cultures that coexisted in South Africa.

 

She explained that the project had its beginnings in 1994 and took approximately three years to complete. The project was also made possible through funding from the National Department of Arts and Culture and donations from the Foundation for the Creative Arts.

 

4.1.2.4 The Reservoir at Oliewenhuis Art Museum

 

Ms Le Roux explained that during the planning phases of the African Carousel at the Museum in 1994, they requested a site plan from the National Department of Public Works. An underground construction north of the building was indicated on the plan. The only access to the area was a manhole. She explained that upon further investigation an underground reservoir was discovered, containing water that was half a meter in depth.

 

The Art Museum considered renovating the reservoir into an exhibition space, but for this they had to make it completely waterproof. Planning for the transformation of the reservoir into an art gallery began as early as 1996 and the project was completed in November 2002. The transformation of the reservoir was financed by the National Department of Arts and Culture.

 

4.2 Performing Arts Centre of the Free State (PACOFS)

 

The Performing Arts Centre is one of the biggest arts institutions in South Africa and was once an internationally recognized and respected institution. The institution staged high quality professional productions and housed many artistic companies. It is the flagship of theatre activities in the Free State Province.

 

The Committee was welcomed by Mr R Rashama, Chairperson, Council of the Performing Arts Centre of the Free State. He was accompanied by Mr J Pooe, Acting Artistic Director, Performing Arts Centre of the Free State; Mr T Macholo, Chief Financial Officer, Performing Arts Centre of the Free State; Mr R Alexander, Human Resources Manager, Performing Arts Centre of the Free State; Ms M Kabi, Manager: Marketing and Communications and Mr W Lesenyelo, Development Manager, Performing Arts Centre of the Free State.

 

Mr Rashama, Chairperson of the Council of the Performing Arts Centre indicated that the Performing Arts Centre had received an unqualified audit report and that the Department of Arts and Culture had recognized their improvement amongst its institutions.

 

He pointed out that the Auditor- General emphasized the following matters. Unauthorised expenditure amounted to R9 193 133. Their action plan on this included the implementation of a new financial system to address the issue of over and/ or unauthorized expenditure. In terms of the new financial system, managers would have access to his/her own departmental budget. A Budget block has been put in place and if he/she envisaged overspending, application for permission to do so has to be obtained.

 

Irregular expenditure amounted to R 160 465.00. The matter has been referred to Council for condonation. The expenditure related to the appointment of a service provider to implement change management. The implementation never took place due to the suspension of the Chief Executive Officer and Artistic Director. They were both still on the payroll of the performing arts centre.

 

Fruitless and wasteful expenditure amounted to R 830 455.00. He indicated that the necessary steps had been taken against the perpetrators.

 

Mr Rashama further informed the Committee that the performing arts centre budget allocation from the National Department of Arts and Culture was R31 million. They generated an income totaling R 313 029 from their Welkom Theatre and R1, 8 million on interest received. Their sundry income was R7614. This totaled an amount of R33 million that the performing arts centre received annually. He informed the Committee that they had thus far spent R 16 million.

 

On Human Resources he elaborated that they had a staff complement of 104. This consisted of 59 males and 45 females. He informed the Committee that the suspended Chief Executive Officer’s case had been handed over to the Council and that the Artistic Manager‘s hearing was in progress. The arts centre has also appointed the service provider to deal with the prevalent salary discrepancies. The service provider was also to assess and develop skills development plans.

 

The Chairperson indicated that the Department of Arts and Culture stepped in to assist with repairs to the roof of the Sand du Plessis Theatre. A total of R 8 million was spent on the repairs.

 

Mr. Rashama in conclusion highlighted their challenges. He informed the Committee that they experienced a lack of leadership due to the absence of the Chief Executive Officer and their Artistic Director. They also lacked the appropriate funding for the alignment of salary discrepancies, and generated their own minimal income.

 

He pointed out that notwithstanding aforementioned, the performing arts centre was endeavoring to implement strong sound financial management systems.

 

4.2.1 Red Carpet Foyer

 

Mr A Geyer, Technical Manager at the performing arts centre took the Committee on a tour of the facilities. He indicated that the red carpet has been in use for the last 25 years and that the performing arts centre was planning to replace it in anticipation of the centenary celebrations.

 

4.2.2 The Marble Foyer

 

Mr Geyer explained that the marble used in the foyer was extremely rare blue veined white carara. The marble covered the floors and columns. The area served as the main access to all public areas of the theatre and housed the Art Gallery and Restaurant. The area was also used as a cocktail area and had the capacity to host 800 guests.

 

4.2.3 Sand Du Plessis Theatre

 

Mr Geyer explained that the theatre was designed to accommodate European productions, and that the stage was designed as a stereotype cross stage. It also had a moveable stage lift that was divided into five independent stage lifts, which was recently upgraded at a cost of R 10, 2 million. He pointed out that all renovations including the repairs to the roof was 95% completed.  He informed the Committee that the theatre had a seating capacity of 964.

4.2.4 Andre Huguenot Theatre

 

Mr Geyer informed the Committee that the venue was also recently renovated and that the performing arts centre was in engagement with the management of the adjacent shopping complex to build a bridge, linking the theatre to the shopping complex.

 

4.3 Military Museum Fort Bloemfontein

Fort Bloemfontein played a prominent role in the history of Bloemfontein and the Free State. The Fort was situated on a koppie and was completed in 1849. It was used both as military headquarters as well as a hospital. From 1913, it was used to care for mentally ill patients with serious criminal inclinations, as well as a jail.

 

The Committee was welcomed by Mr Aubrey Msibi who took them on a guided tour of the Museum, where the military history of the Free State was displayed. This also included displays from the Difaquane, the two World Wars and the liberation struggles of various African Countries.

 

4.4 Free State Provincial Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation- Mmabana Community Arts and Crafts Centre and Selosesha Community Library

 

In the spirit of cooperative governance the Committee and the Provincial Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation undertook an oversight to one of the Provincial Department’s Community Arts and Crafts Centre’s and Community Libraries respectively.

The Committee was welcomed by Advocate TH Malakoane, Head of Department, Free State Provincial Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation ; Mrs. K Tlhakudi, Chief Director, Sports and Recreation, Arts and Cultural Affairs; Mr B Swanepoel, Director, Arts and Cultural Affairs ;Ms L Mbele, Communications Officer, Free State Provincial Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation; Ms A Wallace, Communications Officer, Free State Provincial Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation; Mr V Khetha , Director, Heritage, Free State Provincial Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation; Mr K Tlhapi , Deputy Director, Free State Provincial Department of Sports, Arts , Culture and Recreation; Mr M Malapo , Deputy Director, Free State Provincial Department of Sports , Arts, Culture and Recreation; Mr J Makhalemele , Assistant Director, Zamdela Arts Centre; Mr T Dzorkpey, Head, Musicor; Ms JJ Schimper , Director, Library and Archives Services

 

Advocate Malakoane, Head of Department, Free State Provincial Department of Sports, Arts , Culture and Recreation indicated that his department managed four institutions namely the

 

* Zamdela Community Arts and Culture Centre in Sasolburg

* Thabong Community Arts and Culture Centre in Welkom

* Mmabana Community Arts and Culture Centre in Thaba Nchu

* Musicon- Music Academy

 

He indicated that they established a Provincial Arts and Culture Council in terms of Act 106 of the Free State Provincial Arts and Culture Council of 2007. The objective of the Council was to address the historical imbalances in the provision of infrastructure and funding for the promotion of the Arts. He explained that all 5 Municipalities had a delegate on the Board who had been appointed by the MEC, Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation.

Adv Malakoane informed the Committee that the Provincial Arts and Culture Council had thus far approved nine Music Bursaries, nineteen Music Project applications, ten Literature applications, one Visual Arts application, three Fine Arts applications, three Multidiscipline applications, one Film, Drama and Theatre application, eight Crafts applications and three Dance applications. He indicated that the funding was to be filtered into the MACUFE fringe programme and that the MACUFE festival generated R39, 8 million in revenue. In concluding his portion of the presentation he indicated that his department envisaged purchasing vehicles for all Community Arts Centres to enable them to do outreach work in the rural areas.

 

Regarding Community libraries, Ms J Schimper indicated that the Provincial Department was

funding 170 library service points and it consisted of 139 public libraries, 12 school community libraries, 15 depot libraries at institutions such as prisons, hospitals and places of safety, and 4 special libraries for specialized user groups at nursing colleges and the provincial government. They had a collection of library materials of 2, 3 million items, approximately 400 000 registered library users and about 400 000 non- registered library users. Ms Schimper further indicated that they had a budget allocation of R96 million, of which R47 million had already been spent, and that they had a deficit of R184 million.

 

She highlighted their achievements and challenges as follows:

 

* The provision of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) infrastructure.

* The upgrading of library collections at 80 libraries since 2007/2008.

* The upgrading of staff capacity at libraries to ensure that all libraries were open at least 40 hours per week.

* The establishment of a variety of reading programmes for example “ A re Ithuseng” and reading is cool”

* The implementation of toy library services in accordance with a roll – out programme

* Equipping libraries with basic equipment such as photocopiers.

* The establishment of bursary programmes for the study in library and information sciences

 

Challenges that they experienced included the following:

 

* Matters pertaining to the funding of libraries ( Resolving schedule 5 issues)

* The high costs associated with on-line connectivity

* The lack of capacity for infrastructure and facility management

* The continuous maintenance and upgrading of library collections

* Slow delivery from the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) on the provision of network services.

 

She implored the following interventions:

 

* Better funding for the administration of public libraries

* High level interventions with the Department of Communication and the Department of Public Services and Administration to develop special tariff structures for the line costs of public libraries.

 

Adv. Malakoane proceeded to invite the Committee on a physical site visit of the Mmabane Community Arts and Culture Centre and the Selosesha Public Library.

 

4.4.1 Mmabana Community Arts and Culture Centre

 

Mmabana is a centre of excellence and was headed by Mr. Ntapelo. Adv. Malakoane indicated that National Treasury allocated an amount totaling R5 million to enable them to resource the Arts Centre.

 

4.4.1.1 Ceramics workshop

 

The Committee was welcomed by Mr. R Bolas. He indicated that the workshop was divided into two sections. The one section was used for beadwork and the other for clay work and pottery. He pointed out that the workshop facilitated 30 students in total and that they attended on a rotational basis. Attendees included students from 2 local schools. The workshop also had 13 students living with disabilities in attendance.

 

4.4.1.2 Music Studio

 

Advocate Malakoane indicated that the National Department of Arts and Culture donated 50 musical instruments, and that the centre in terms of training got assistance from the Free State, South African Police Services Band that was situated in Thaba Nchu.

 

He informed the Committee that 120 young people were currently undergoing training in the use of the musical instruments. He indicated that they had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Freedom Foundation and the National Film and Video Foundation. The Department envisaged purchasing a theatre truck to conduct outreach programmes in the surrounding areas.

 

4.4.1.3 Sewing Unit

Mr Ntapelo informed the Committee that this unit had an acute shortage of personnel and that the Head of the Unit has since left the employ of the Arts Centre. They currently only had 1 female instructor. The unit also had a machine that was dysfunctional and needed to be replaced.

 

4.4.1.4 Dance Unit

 

Mr Ntapelo explained that this unit had 4 qualified dancing instructors.. The dance group qualified to attend the World Championships, but due to financial constraints, could not attend.

 

4.4.1.5 Traditional Dance Unit

Mr Ntapelo indicated that this Unit was headed by Ms P Suping and that the group went to Belgium in 2004. The ages of the children attending the unit ranged from 8 years and upwards. The Department envisaged building a new studio for the unit in the new financial year.

 

4.5 William Humphreys Art Gallery (WHAG), Kimberley, Northern Cape Province

 

The Committee concluded its oversight in Kimberley, Northern Cape and conducted an oversight at the William Humphreys Art Gallery. The Art Gallery which was named after William Benbow Humphreys, a former parliamentarian, art collector and the gallery’s benefactor, was officially opened in 1952. In 1948 he made a substantial donation of his personal art collections that consisted of 16th and 17th century Dutch and Flemish Old Masters, British and French paintings, antique furniture and other art objects to the City of Kimberley. It was largely due to his goodwill that the art gallery was named after him. The gallery’s main focus was the collection of South African art works. In addition to that the gallery also served as an educational and cultural centre. Facilities at the gallery included a 101 seater – auditorium and the reference library.

 

The Committee was welcomed by Mr. D Robbins, Chairperson, Council of the William Humphreys Art Gallery; Mrs. A Pretorius, Director, William Humphreys Art Gallery; Mr. L Stockenstrom, Chief Financial Officer, William Humphreys Art Gallery and they were accompanied by Mr. F Aysen, Head of Department, Northern Cape Provincial Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation and Mr. A Swartbooi, Acting Senior Manager, northern Cape Provincial Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation.

 

Mrs. Pretorius, Director, William Humphreys Art Gallery indicated that the 2010/2011 financial year saw the gallery without a Council. Despite this their report from the Auditor- General was unqualified and clear.

 

She informed the Committee that the Minister of Arts and Culture has since appointed a new Council, and that their budget allocation for the 2012/2013 financial year was R5, 2 million. They have also improved their ability to govern the Gallery according to the prescripts of the Public Finance Management Act.

 

Mrs. Pretorius pointed out that, notwithstanding the fact that they faced capacity constraints in terms of finance, human resources and space they had a number of successes which proved that they had achieved their stated objectives as set out in their Strategic Plans.

 

She also indicated that their associated projects were aligned with national imperatives in terms of skills transfer, job creation, poverty alleviation, moral regeneration and the building of a national identity.

 

She explained that the art gallery had three outreach exhibitions of South African graphics from the permanent collection to deprived rural communities in the Northern Cape Province in the 2011 financial year. They were to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, Richmond and Marydale.

 

The fourth outreach event was arranged during the Soccer World Cup. They also visited four small schools at Witput, Bethal, Orange River Station and Salt Lake in the Hopetown District.

 

She informed the Committee that the project presenting craft workshops for female offenders at the Kimberley Prison was in its sixth year with many offenders reaping the benefits of the project.

Mrs. Pretorius informed the Committee that the Sguzu Whag project that was developed to add substance to the concept of mentorship of emerging local artists had gone from strength to strength. Mr. Dumisane Mabaso, Rorke’s Drift graduate of 1978 had continued to pass on various techniques, technical aspects of printmaking and other skills to local aspirant artists.

 

Upon conclusion of her presentation Mrs. Pretorius invited the Committee on a tour of the facilities.

 

4.5.1 Art Studios

 

The Committee was welcomed by Mr. Mabaso. He indicated that their studio was the only studio to be housed by the William Humphreys Art Gallery. The Art Gallery was looking at employing recently matriculated students or graduates to act as agents and collect art forms and sell it.

Mrs. Pretorius informed the Committee that the gallery had a studio in Soweto, from which artists sold paintings to the William Humphreys Art Gallery. The William Humphreys Art Gallery then adds 50% commission and resells the artwork.

 

5. Conclusions

 

The Committee observed that the Performing Arts Centre of the Free State was not accessible to people living with disabilities. It expressed satisfaction at the performing arts centre’s development plans, and added that the current management should support the Chairperson of the Council of the Performing Arts Centre of the Free State.

 

The Committee expressed concern around the lack of financial resources for the William Humphreys Art Gallery for their core business. It indicated that lack of proper funding would have an adverse effect on the livelihood of its artists.

 

The Committee also noted that despite the fact that the Art Gallery had brought the exorbitant auditing fees that the Auditor-General charged, for such a small institution, the Department of Arts and Culture had not heeded their pleas.

 

The Committee has observed that the William Humphreys Art Gallery did not uplift other races.

 

6. Recommendations

 

6.1 The Committee recommends that the Performing Arts Centre of the Free State should be made more accessible to people living with disabilities.

6.2 The management of the performing arts centre should improve their organizational structure.

 

6.3 The Committee encourages that the arts centre should foster closer relations with the private sector.

 

6.4 The Committee encourages that the Performing Arts Centre should give preference to people living with disabilities during its recruitment processes.

 

6.5 The Council of the arts centre should review its Strategic Plans.

 

6.6 The Performing Arts Centre should as a matter of urgency appoint a Supply Chain Manager.

6.7 The Performing Arts Centre should deal with the disciplinary processes of the Chief Executive Officer and the Artistic Director speedily.

 

6.8 The Committee encourages that the Performing Arts Centre should partner with all Universities in terms of youth development and to approach the National Youth Development Agency for funding.

 

6.9 The Performing Arts Centre should devise a strategy to make the Theatre a desirable employment option.

 

6.10 The Committee recommends that the Department of Arts and Culture should give clarity on the exorbitant fees that were charged, not only for the William Humphreys Art Gallery, but also other small museums under its auspices.

6.11 The Committee recommends that the William Humphreys Art Gallery should also foster closer relations with the private sector and local municipalities.

 

6.12 The Committee encourages that the William Humphreys Art Gallery should display the South African flag and other symbols of government.

 

Report to be considered.

 

WEDNESDAY, 1 AUGUST 2012

 

COMMITTEE REPORTS

 

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

 

1. REPORT OF THE AD HOC JOINT COMMITTEE FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF CANDIDATES TO THE NATIONAL YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AGENCY BOARD ON THE RECOMMENDED CANDIDATES, DATED 1 AUGUST 2012

 

1. Introduction and Background

 

The National Youth Development Agency Board (the Board) was established in terms of the National Youth Development Agency Act (Act 54 of 2008) and consists of seven members. Its functions are to manage the affairs of the National Youth Development Agency and exercise control over its powers and the execution of its functions. Members of the Board hold office for a period of three (3) years.

 

The Ad Hoc Joint Committee for the appointment of candidates to the National Youth Development Agency Board (the Committee) was established in terms of Joint Rule 138 (see minutes of National Assembly dated 24 November 2011 and National Council of Provinces dated 6 March 2012).

 

The following Members were appointed to serve on the Committee:

 

 

Name of Member

 

Political Party

 

From the National Council of Provinces

Maine, Mr MC [Co-Chairperson]: North West

African National Congress

Mlenzana, Mr  Z: Eastern Cape

Congress of the People

Moshodi, Mr MC: Free State

African National Congress

Mabe, Ms B: Gauteng

African National Congress

Magadla, Ms NW: KwaZulu-Natal

African National Congress

Dikgale, Ms MC: Limpopo

African National Congress

Nyambi, Mr AJ: Mpumalanga

African National Congress

Gunda, M JJ: Northern Cape

Independent Democrats

De Villiers, Mr MRJ: Western Cape

Democratic Alliance

 

From the National Assembly

Kubayi, Ms M [Co-Chairperson]

African National Congress

Makhubele, Mr S

African National Congress

Mkhulisi, Ms P

African National Congress

Muthambi, Ms F

African National Congress

Skosana, Mr J

African National Congress

Snell, Mr G

African National Congress

Tseke, Mrs G

African National Congress

Swathe, Mr M

Democratic Alliance

Bhanga, Mr N

Congress of the People

Hlengwa, Mr M

Inkatha Freedom Party

 

2. Shortlisting and interviews

 

An advertisement calling for nominations for persons to serve on the Board was published in the print media from 16 to 23 March 2012. The deadline for such nominations was 30 March 2012 at 12:00pm. On 11 April 2012 the Committee considered all the nominations for persons to serve on the Board.

 

Out of 99 candidates who were nominated, the following 23 candidates were shortlisted:

 

 

Number

 

Name of Candidates

1

Xoliswa Ayanda Bambiso

2

Marten Subramoney Govender

3

Olwethu Sipuka

4

Hlanganani Siphelele Gumbi

5

Maria Tshabalala

6

Mandla Macbeth Ncongwane

7

Thulani Thobela Tshefuta

8

Gert Johannes Petrus Nell

9

Fezile Wycliff Nondonga

10

Andile Lungisa

11

Maropene Lydia Ntuli

      12

Thabiso Ephrahim Teffo

13

Itiseng Kenny Morolong

14

Yershen Pillay

15

Ezra Boithumelo Letsoalo

16

Lerato Jacobeth Thulo

17

Zandile Majozi

18

Mcebo Rich Khumalo

19

Nyalleng Potloane

20

Paul Rawule Nkosi

21

Mothupi Phaladi Modiba

22

Vuyokazi Malafu

23

Ngoako Abel Rangata

 

The names of the shortlisted candidates were published in the national print media from 20 to 22 April 2012. The Committee resolved that the shortlisted candidates be screened by the Parliamentary Security Services in terms of section 10(1) of the National Youth Development Agency Act (Act 54 of 2008), before interviews be conducted. Of the shortlisted candidates, two did not receive a positive security clearance. One of these candidates accepted an invitation to discuss the matter during a meeting with the Co-Chairpersons and subsequent to those discussions, was interviewed by the Committee. The second candidate did not accept the Co-Chairpersons’ invitation to discuss the matter of the security clearance. Therefore, out of the 23 candidates who were shortlisted, 22 candidates were interviewed. One candidate withdrew his nomination after being interviewed.

 

3. Recommendation

 

The Ad Hoc Joint Committee for the appointment of candidates to the National Youth Development Agency Board, having conducted interviews with 22 of the 23 shortlisted candidates, recommends that the House, in accordance with the National Youth Development Agency Act (Act 54 of 2008), recommends to the President that the following people serve on the National Youth Development Agency Board:

* Xoliswa Ayanda Bambiso;

* Zandile Majozi;

* Mothupi Phaladi Modiba;

* Itiseng Kenny Morolong;

* Maropene Lydia Ntuli;

* Yershen Pillay; and

* Nyalleng Potloane.

 

 

Report to be considered.

 

THURSDAY, 2 AUGUST 2012

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

 

The Speaker and the Chairperson

 

1.         Calling of Joint Sitting

 

CALLING OF JOINT SITTING OF PARLIAMENT

 

The Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr M V Sisulu, and the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Mr M J Mahlangu, in terms of Joint Rule 7(2), have called a joint sitting of the Houses of Parliament for Wednesday, 8 August 2012 at 14:00 to conduct a debate in celebration of national Women’s Day.

 

 

     M V SISULU MP                                                       M J MAHLANGU MP

SPEAKER OF THE        CHAIRPERSON OF THE

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY NATIONAL COUNCIL OF

      PROVINCES

 

 

2.         Calling of Joint Sitting

 

CALLING OF JOINT SITTING OF PARLIAMENT

 

 

The Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr M V Sisulu, and the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Mr M J Mahlangu, in terms of Joint Rule 7(2), have called a joint sitting of the Houses of Parliament for Wednesday, 15 August 2012 at 10:00 to conduct a debate on the occasion of the handover of the National Development Plan handover to the President.

 

    

     M V SISULU MP                                                       M J MAHLANGU MP

SPEAKER OF THE        CHAIRPERSON OF THE

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY NATIONAL COUNCIL OF

      PROVINCES

 

 

 

3.         Recommendations on salaries, allowances and benefits of public office-bearers

 

The annual recommendations of the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office-Bearers in respect of the salaries, allowances and benefits of public office-bearers for the fiscal year commencing 1 April 2011 were submitted to Parliament on 25 July 2012 in accordance with section 8(5) of the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office-Bearers Act, 1997.

 

National Assembly

 

The Speaker

 

1. Membership of Assembly

 

(1)        The vacancy which occurred in the National Assembly owing to the passing away of Mr S Shiceka has been filled with effect from 18 July 2012 by the nomination of Ms D O Chili.

 

TABLINGS

 

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

 

1. The Minister of Finance

 

(a)        Government Notice No R.445, published in Government Gazette No 35430, dated 8 June 2012: Amendment of Exchange Control Regulations in terms of the Currency and Exchanges Act, 1933 (Act No 9 of 1933).

 

(b)        Government Notice No R.466, published in Government Gazette No 35450, dated 22 June 2012: Appointment of an authorised dealer in foreign exchange in terms of the Currency and Exchanges Act, 1933 (Act No 9 of 1933).

 

(c)        Government Notice No R.487, published in Government Gazette No 35464, dated 29 June 2012: Amendment of Schedule No.1 (No.1/1/1442), in terms of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 (Act No 91 of 1964).

 

(d)        Government Notice No R.488, published in Government Gazette No 35464, dated 29 June 2012: Amendment of Schedule No.1 (No.1/213/155), in terms of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 (Act No 91 of 1964).

 

(e)        Government Notice No 499, published in Government Gazette No 35478, dated 29 June 2012: Transfers made from the Provincial and Municipal Disaster Grant, in terms of the Division of Revenue Act, 2012 (Act No 5 of  2012).

 

(f)         Government Notice No R.506, published in Government Gazette No 35464, dated 6 July 2012: Amendments, in terms of the Value-Added Tax, 1991 (Act No 91 of 1964) and Customs and Excise Act, 1964 (Act No 91 of 1964).

(g)        Government Notice No R.507, published in Government Gazette No 35464, dated 6 July 2012: Amendment of Schedule No 4 (No 4/348), in terms of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 (Act No 91 of 1964).

 

(h)        Government Notice No R.508, published in Government Gazette No 35464, dated 6 July 2012: Amendment of Schedule No 4 (No 4/349), in terms of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 (Act No 91 of 1964).

 

(i)         overnment Notice No R.509, published in Government Gazette No 35464, dated 6 July 2012: Amendment of Schedule No 4 (No 4/350), in terms of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 (Act No 91 of 1964).

 

(j)         Government Notice No R.534, published in Government Gazette No 35511, dated 13 July 2012: Imposition of provisional payment (PP/138), in terms of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 (Act No 91 of 1964).

 

(k)        Government Notice No R.538, published in Government Gazette No 35516 dated 13 July 2012: Notice in terms of section 10 (1) (y) of the Act, in terms of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (Act No 58 of 1962).

 

2.         The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development

 

(a) Report dated 30 July 2012 on the suspension from office of Magistrate L Myles, an additional magistrate in Upington, tabled in terms of section 13(4)(b) of the Magistrates Act, 1993 (Act No 90 of 1993).

 

(b) Report dated 30 July 2012 on the withholding of remuneration of Magistrate M M Tyulu, an additional magistrate in Cape Town, tabled in terms of section 13(4A)(b) of the Magistrates Act, 1993 (Act No 90 of 1993).

 

(c) Report dated 30 July 2012 on the suspension from office of Magistrate N Ndamase, an additional magistrate in Pretoria, tabled in terms of section 13(4)(b) of the Magistrates Act, 1993 (Act No 90 of 1993).

 

3.         The Minister of Public Enterprises

 

(a)        Report and Financial Statements of Transnet SOC Ltd (Volumes 1, 2 and 3) for 2011-2012, including the Report of the Independent Auditors on the Financial Statements and Performance Information for 2011-2012.

 

(b)        Report and Financial Statements of Denel SOC LTD for 2011-2012, including the Report of the Independent Auditors on the Financial Statements and Performance Information for 2011-2012.

 

National Assembly

 

1.         The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development

 

(a) National Policy Framework on the Management of Sexual Offence Matters, tabled in terms of section 62(2) (a) of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, 2007 (Act No 32 of 2007).

 

(b) Consolidated Report on the Coordination and Implementation of activities relating to implementation of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, 2007 (Act No 32 of 2007) for January 2008 – December 2011.

 

2.         The Speaker

 

      (a)  Report on the Women’s Parliament of 22 to 24 August 2011.

      See http://www.parliament.gov.za/live/content.php?Category_ID=87

 

TUESDAY, 7 AUGUST 2012

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

 

The Speaker and the Chairperson

 

1. Classification of Bill

2.  by Joint Tagging Mechanism (JTM)

 

The JTM in terms of Joint Rule 160(6) classified the following Bill as a section 75 Bill:

 

Veterinary and Para-Veterinary Professions Amendment Bill [B 25 – 2012] (National Assembly – sec 75).

 

TABLINGS

 

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

 

1. The Minister of Public Enterprises

 

(a)        Report and Financial Statements of Eskom Holdings Limited for 2011- 2012, including the Report of the Independent Auditors on the Financial Statements and Performance Information for 2011-2012.

 

 

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